Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 46,612 Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 46,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,331,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AZTA. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Azenta by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Azenta during the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Azenta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $293,000. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in Azenta in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Azenta during the third quarter valued at approximately $352,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Azenta Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Azenta stock opened at $34.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.27. Azenta, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.37 and a fifty-two week high of $63.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.61 and a beta of 1.52.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a negative net margin of 24.91% and a positive return on equity of 1.25%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised Azenta to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.75.

Azenta Company Profile

Azenta, Inc provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services.