Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) PT Lowered to $280.00 at Morgan Stanley

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Align Technology from $325.00 to $276.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Align Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Align Technology from $270.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.38.

Align Technology Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ALGN opened at $219.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.64. Align Technology has a 12-month low of $176.34 and a 12-month high of $335.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.02.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $977.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.05 million. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 14.07%. Align Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Align Technology will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C Raymond Larkin, Jr. purchased 6,500 shares of Align Technology stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $235.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,529,645.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 28,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,647,366.51. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Align Technology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALGN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,375,147 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,746,378,000 after buying an additional 25,362 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Align Technology by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,282 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $277,230,000 after acquiring an additional 15,540 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 1.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,147,124 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $276,950,000 after purchasing an additional 10,919 shares during the last quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Align Technology by 44.4% in the first quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 819,930 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $268,871,000 after purchasing an additional 252,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its holdings in Align Technology by 0.5% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 707,542 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $170,822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% of the company’s stock.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.