Align Technology At 52-Week High: What's Driving The Stock?

Share price of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) scaled a new 52-week high of $246.84 on Nov 7, closing nominally lower at $246.46. The company has gained 78.4% over the last six months, much higher than the S&P 500’s gain of 8.2%. Align Technology has also beat the broader industry’s gain of 5.3% with respect to share price over the last six months. The stock has a market cap of $19.76 billion.

Further, Align Technology’s estimate revision trend for the current year is favorable. In the past 60 days, nine estimates moved up while one shifted down. Consequently, estimates were up from $3.40 per share to $3.56.

The company also has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 16.6%. Its positive long-term growth of 28.9% holds promise as well.

The company’s five-year historical growth rate is also favorable at 19.5% as compared with the broader industry’s 8.4% and the S&P 500’s 2.8%.

Align Technology sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company has an impressive Growth Style Score of B. Our Growth Style Score highlights all the vital metrics of a company’s financials to obtain a clearer picture of the quality and sustainability of its growth. Our research shows that stocks with Style Scores of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1, 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) offer the best investment opportunities.

Align Technology, Inc. Price and Consensus

Align Technology, Inc. Price and Consensus | Align Technology, Inc. Quote

Growth Drivers

The market is upbeat about Align Technology’s recently reported impressive third-quarter performance. The year-over-year growth in earnings and revenues is encouraging. Additionally, the company has a strong cash balance that enables it to carry out share repurchases and in turn provide solid returns to investors. The expansion in gross and operating margin also buoys optimism. The company is also constantly investing in R&D for product innovation.

Recently, the company opened its first office in Canada to support growth in the region. According to the company, Canada is its second-largest market based on Invisalign case volumes.

Align Technology has also become part of the NASDAQ-100 Index and the NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index recently.

All these factors are expected to boost the company’s share price.

Other Key Picks

Other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical sector are PetMed Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETS) , Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:LMNX) and Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) . Notably, PetMed and Luminex sport a Zacks Rank #1, while Intuitive Surgical carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

PetMed has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 10%. The stock has rallied roughly 91.7% over the last year.

Luminexhas a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 16.3%. The stock has gained 8.6% in the last year.

Intuitive Surgical has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 9.1%. The stock has gained 71.2% in the last year.

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