Why Azenta Stock Crushed it on Wednesday
Wednesday was an ideal day to be invested in Azenta's (NASDAQ:AZTA) stock. Investors fell over themselves buying shares of the healthcare tech company, and when the scramble subsided, the stock had gained almost 21%. That made it an outlier even in a prosperous trading session for the broader market, with the bellwether S&P 500 index posting a relatively strong 1.3% gain.
A store of value
Azenta, which concentrates on automated sample storage for the healthcare industry, took the wraps off its fiscal fourth quarter of 2026. The company's revenue rose by 5% year over year to $167 million, driven by a 9% increase in its key sample management solutions unit to $94 million. Its other business, multiomics (analysis of numerous types of molecules at once), was flat at $73 million.
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On the bottom line, Azenta's net income not under generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP, or adjusted) was $12.3 million ($0.28 per share). That was up from the $9.6 million it netted in the same period of fiscal 2025.
Analysts were expecting worse. Their consensus estimate for revenue was barely over $160 million, while that for adjusted net profit was a mere $0.12 per share.
The company provided guidance for both the current quarter and the entirety of fiscal 2027. For the year, it's anticipating revenue will be $648 million to $660 million, with the adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin growing by 200 to 250 basis points over the 2026 result. It did not provide a bottom-line forecast.
A distinct company
Azenta sets itself apart from many current healthcare tech companies by focusing on sample storage. With this, it's selling its services into a large addressable market, as its solutions can deliver considerable cost and time savings for clients. I think its stock could go even higher after that considerable Wednesday pop, given the expected margin expansion, the company’s clean balance sheet, and that considerable potential.
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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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