Stephens Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX)

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $92.00 price objective on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Hologic from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Hologic from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Hologic from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Argus increased their target price on Hologic from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Hologic from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $87.60.

Hologic Stock Performance

Shares of HOLX stock opened at $83.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.32. Hologic has a 12-month low of $64.02 and a 12-month high of $84.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hologic will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hologic news, CEO Stephen P. Macmillan sold 3,672 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $294,237.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,157,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,755,443.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hologic news, CEO Stephen P. Macmillan sold 3,672 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $294,237.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,157,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,755,443.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen P. Macmillan 44,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hologic in the 4th quarter worth $217,529,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Hologic by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,507,743 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $116,797,000 after buying an additional 19,680 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its position in shares of Hologic by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 397,251 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,384,000 after buying an additional 113,050 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Hologic by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 518,596 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $40,430,000 after buying an additional 176,006 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Hologic by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,184,427 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $170,297,000 after buying an additional 338,212 shares during the period. 94.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.