Changes In ALGN’s 1Q10 Invisalign Teen Promotion May Adversely Affect Product
Analysts at Northcoast Research maintain their "buy" rating on Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN). The target price for ALGN is set to $21.
According to Northcoast Research, “In our 1Q10 survey, 14% of respondents experienced stronger Invisalign utilization (cases per submitting doctor) on a year-over-year basis. This represents an improvement from 4Q09 when a net 3% of our survey respondents experienced better Invisalign utilization… Our research suggests Invisalign utilization is benefiting from modest improvements in case acceptance rates for cosmetic procedures as well as doctors’ increased marketing and promotional efforts for the product (as they work to achieve ALGN’s proficiency program requirements).”
Northcoast Research believes that “changes in ALGN’s 1Q10 Invisalign Teen promotion could cause the product to decline as a percent of ALGN’s total Invisalign cases this quarter.” “These changes include modifications to (1) the number of free cases doctors can receive per quarter, (2) the patient age requirements for Invisalign Teen cases to qualify for ALGN’s promotion, and (3) doctors’ ability to participate in the Invisalign Teen promotion in future quarters,” the analysts say.
