Empirical Finance LLC Purchases 50 Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,486 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Align Technology by 0.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 25,362 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 1.4% in 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 buying an additional 15,540 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Align Technology by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,147,124 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $276,950,000 after buying an additional 10,919 shares in the last quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Align Technology by 44.4% in the 1st quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 819,930 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $268,871,000 after acquiring an additional 252,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its position in Align Technology by 0.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. 88.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Align Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALGN opened at $223.69 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.62. Align Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $196.09 and a one year high of $335.40. The firm has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Align Technology had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 11.15%. The business had revenue of $977.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Align Technology’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALGN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Align Technology from $270.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Align Technology from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Align Technology from $325.00 to $276.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Align Technology from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.38.

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.