American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 9,640 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 99,210 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,640 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Azenta were worth $4,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in Azenta by 305.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Azenta in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Azenta by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Azenta during the fourth quarter worth $293,000. 99.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AZTA shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Azenta to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Azenta in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Azenta from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Azenta from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Azenta Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZTA opened at $29.12 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.01 and a 200-day moving average of $45.75. Azenta, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.93 and a 52 week high of $63.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.77 and a beta of 1.66.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.25% and a negative net margin of 24.91%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

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.