Orin
ALGNNasdaq·Medical - Devices

Align Technology, Inc. ALGN

Market cap $10.5BP/E 25.3× trailingGross margin 66.5%Reports Wed 28 Oct, after the close
$147.24
+1.61 (+1.11%)live 11:30 ET
52-wk $123.02 – $200.44
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 21 Aug · take v8. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

ALGN remains a hold as FY2025 revenue growth of 0.9% ($4.03B vs $4.00B) and EPS of $5.65 — well below the FY2021 peak of $9.69 — confirm a business still searching for reacceleration, while gross margin compression to 68.3% (from 74.3% in FY2021) signals persistent competitive and mix pressure. The stock trades at a 28.3x trailing PE, a ~50% discount to the peer median of 56.9x, supported by a clean balance sheet ($114M debt vs $4.05B equity) and 12.2% FCF margin, but technicals are deteriorating with price below both the 50-day ($175.26) and 200-day ($169.26) moving averages and a negative MACD histogram.

The newly disclosed $37.5M U.K. VAT liability adds near-term earnings uncertainty, making it premature to turn constructive despite the China patent win and modestly positive smart-money score of 0.0021 as of Q2 2026.

What could go wrong

  • UK VAT overhang. A $37.5M U.K. VAT liability, new 20% VAT charges, and a pending appeal create fresh earnings uncertainty that could pressure margins already compressed to 68.3% in FY2025.
  • Stagnant revenue growth. FY2025 revenue grew only 0.9% YoY to $4.03B, and revenue has been essentially flat in the $3.73B–$4.04B range since FY2022, suggesting structural demand softness.
  • Margin erosion trend. Operating margin declined to 15.3% in FY2025 from 24.7% in FY2021, and gross margin fell to 68.3% from 74.3%, indicating sustained competitive and pricing pressure.
  • Technical breakdown. As of 2026-08-19, the stock at $163.04 trades below both its 50-day MA ($175.26) and 200-day MA ($169.26) with a negative MACD histogram, signaling bearish momentum.

What would change my mind

Revenue reacceleration. Quarterly revenue growth returns to mid-single digits or above with clear aligner volume gains in North Americabullish
Gross margin recovery. Gross margin re-expands toward or above 70% for two consecutive quartersbullish
UK VAT escalation. VAT appeal is lost or additional jurisdictions impose similar tax liabilities, materially impacting operating incomebearish
Further margin compression. Operating margin falls below 14% or gross margin drops below 67% on a trailing basisbearish

Where this comes from: FMP FY2025 annual + derived_metrics · FMP FY2025 and FY2021 annual · derived_metrics FY2025 and FY2021 · peer_relative. Orin's read on ALGN; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$742.3M0.0% of fund
Fmr$684.8M0.0% of fund
Capital World Investors$577.2M0.1% of fund
Goldman Sachs Group$568.8M0.0% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$528.2M0.0% of fund
State Street$431.5M0.0% of fund

80 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 66 Form 4 filings, net −$4.6M. Of the 50 on hand, 2 were open-market purchases and 1 a sale— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Healthcare
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E25.3×45.6×26.4×
EV/EBITDA12.0×20.1×—
P/S2.52×4.42×—
P/B2.5×4.6×—

Its P/E sits below all 5 of the last 5 years (−1.49σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

8.5%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $0.5B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

33 firms · 2026-09-24
Consensus target

$205

$188 – $235 · +39% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 24 buy or overweight
  • 7 hold
  • 2 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 71.8× of 1 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
ALGNAlign Technology, Inc.$10B25.3×12.0×66.5%10.0%10%
RVTYRevvity, Inc.$17B71.8×24.9×52.1%8.2%3%

The median is of the 1 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 64.8% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 30.9×FY25 27.6×

What its sector has traded at

Healthcare
FY14 6.5×FY26 28.5×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$88$176.16 · −50%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$99$176.16 · −44%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $147.24
52-week range$122 – $200
Analyst targets$188 – $235
Standard DCF$88 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $176.16
Levered DCF$99 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $176.16
At own 5y-median P/E (46×)$263
At 5y P/E range (28–67×)$159 – $387
At sector P/E (26×)$152

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.