May 18, 2023
Top 10 Stock Align Strong Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Align – Top 10 Stock in Dow Jones U.S. Medical Equipment Index
Align is listed as a top 10 stock on May 18, 2023 in the market index D.J. US Medical because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Two consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. The company is safely financed and the professional investor sentiment is positive. Both are encouraging signals for a stock purchase decision, albeit at an above-average share price. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 78 (top 78% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Align on May 18, 2023.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Health Care Supplies |
| Index | NASDAQ 100, NASDAQ, D.J. US Medical, S&P 500 |
| Size class | X-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° Assessment Align Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | May 18, 2023 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 34 |
|
||||||
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 43 |
|
||||||
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 100 |
|
||||||
| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 98 |
|
||||||
| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 78 |
|
||||||
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 78 (better than 78% compared with alternatives) for 2022, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Align are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half below and half above average for Align. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 98, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 98% of alternative investment opportunities. It also rates well regarding its financing structure, with the consolidated Safety Rank at 100 or better than 100% of its peers when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. But the stock is expensive and expects low growth. The consolidated Value Rank is only 34, meaning that the share price of Align is on the high side, compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. The company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth,and stock returns, with its Growth Rank at 43. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a 360° View of 78, Align is better than 78% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As only half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, namely the positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 98) and safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 100), the case for investing in this stock needs further thought. The Value and the Safety Ranks are below average. The Safety Rank is the least critical of the four consolidated ranks, because it only reflects financing practices. So the question is: How to assess below-average value against above-average sentiment? This may be a case where growth is in the future, not yet reflected in current performance. Companies that might fall into this category are those with intellectual property, such as technology and pharmaceutical companies. In early phases, they are expensive relative to their size and have a lot of capital on their books, as is the case here. Investors expect a better future and are willing to pay a higher price than is warranted by the current company size. These higher prices drive stock price value down in the short term. In this case, future growth may be the strongest driver of the investment case, reflected by institutional investors' opinions. With a weak Value Rank, the question is how much to sacrifice value at the cost of positive sentiment. Sometimes market sentiment is just hype, but sometimes it is right. You pay more than market-average for this stock, but it may be worth it, if the future of Aligṇ is bright. Prudent investors may only want to invest a smaller portion of their wealth in such situations. Young investors can carry more risk but should still thrive for sufficient diversification. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Align very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with alternatives) for 2022, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Align is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Align. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 28 (worse than 72% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 88, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Align. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 94, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 94% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 97, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 97% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 98 (more positive than 98% compared with investment alternatives), Align has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: Align Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 34 (worse than 66% compared with alternatives), Align shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators where three out of four are below average for Align. Only the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) indicates good stock value with an Price-to-Book Rank of 50, which means that the stock price is lower compared with invested capital than for 50% of comparable investments. All other value indicators are below the market median. Price-to-Sales is 41 which means the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 59% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Align's revenue levels. The same is valid for the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 50 and for dividend yields which is lower than for 99% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 34, is a HOLD recommendation based on Align's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Why are market participants paying such a high price for Align, where three out of four value indicators are below par? One reason could be that the company is well financed, indicated by the high book capital level, and has a promising future that is not yet visible in reported revenues and profits. That would also explain the low dividend yield because the company needs the cash to invest in its future. If investors can verify a picture in this sense, the stock may still be a good investment, even though current company-reported financials don't fully explain current stock prices. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Align Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 43 (better than 43% compared with alternatives), Align shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Align. Profit Growth has a rank of 65 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 65% of its competitors. The same is valid for capital growth and stock returns. Capital Growth has a rank of 60, and Stock Returns has a rank of 51 which means that the stock returns have recently been above 51% of alternative investments. Only revenue growth is low with a Sales Growth has a rank of 27 (73% of its competitors are better). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 43, is a HOLD recommendation for growth and momentum investors. The many positive growth indicators indicate a positive growth momentum with only low revenue growth. That can also be attributed to divestments or the sale of unprofitable businesses. If that is the reason, overall growth is well on track to making this stock attractive for growth investors. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Align Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | May 18, 2023 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 100 |
|
||||||
| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 3 |
|
||||||
| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 100 |
|
||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 100 |
|
||||||
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives) for 2022, the company Align has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Align is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Align. Leverage is at a rank of 100, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 100% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 100, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 100% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 3, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 97% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives), Align has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Align. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Align Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 18, 2023 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 34 |
|
||||||
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 43 |
|
||||||
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 100 |
|
||||||
| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 43 |
|
||||||
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 43 (worse than 57% compared with investment alternatives), Align (Health Care Supplies, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Align are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Obermatt Value Rank of 34 (worse than 66% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 43) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 100), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: An Obermatt Combined Rank of 43, is a hold recommendation based on Align's financial characteristics. As the company Align's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 34) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 43), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. In this case, good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 100) are a positive sign, because it may allow the company to weather challenging times until the hoped-for cash flows materialize. This may be true for high-tech or biotechnology companies with enough cash to sustain prolonged business development. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and unattractive today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value, as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts lie all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that account for a small fraction of a safe portfolio. ...read more
Obermatt Portfolio Performance
We’re so convinced about our research, that we buy our stock tips.
See the performance of the Obermatt portfolio.