Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) by 171.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 278,295 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 175,855 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Hologic were worth $22,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HOLX. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hologic by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,351 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 5,764 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Hologic during the 3rd quarter valued at $93,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hologic by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,613 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Hologic by 2,374.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 4,825 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 4,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Hologic by 19.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 115,232 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,387,000 after buying an additional 18,526 shares during the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hologic news, COO Essex D. Mitchell sold 24,856 shares of Hologic stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,897,507.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 27,957 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,237.38. The trade was a 47.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Hologic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Hologic in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hologic from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Hologic from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hologic from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hologic has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Hologic Price Performance

HOLX stock opened at $70.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.96. Hologic, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.24 and a 52 week high of $84.67. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.52.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.01. Hologic had a net margin of 19.59% and a return on equity of 19.79%. The business had revenue of $987.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $978.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Hologic

Hologic, Inc develops, manufactures, and supplies diagnostics products, medical imaging systems, and surgical products for women's health through early detection and treatment. The company operates through four segments: Diagnostics, Breast Health, GYN Surgical, and Skeletal Health. It provides Aptima molecular diagnostic assays to detect the infectious microorganisms; Aptima viral load assays for Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and human cytomegalo virus; Aptima bacterial vaginosis and candida vaginitis assays for the diagnosis of vaginitis; Aptima SARS-CoV-2 and Panther Fusion SARS-CoV-2 assays to detect SARS-CoV-2; ThinPrep System for cytology applications; and Rapid Fetal Fibronectin Test that assists physicians in assessing the risk of pre-term birth.