What Does the Future of Align Look Like?
Align Technologies (NASDAQ: ALGN) makes dental equipment, notably the Invisalign products, which are clear, wearable aligners for teeth straightening. The company shipped nearly 400,000 Invisalign cases in the most recent quarter. Since the stock's 2001 IPO, shares have appreciated enormously from $5 to nearly $280. Align delivered exceptional growth from 2016 to August 2018, when the stock hit an all-time high just above $390. It has been volatile since, falling below $280.
Align has enjoyed exceptional growth, but it is slowing. It's trailing three-year revenue CAGR is 32.5%, and consensus analyst forecasts call for 20% growth next year. These are still excellent growth rates for a large company, but these are often the first warning signs that a growth story is approaching maturity. Growth rates are naturally hard to maintain as the base grows and end-user markets become more saturated. These impacts are usually compounded by increasing competition and loss of intellectual property exclusivity.
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Source Fool.com
