Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Raised to “Buy” at Citigroup

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $300.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $250.00. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.11% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $254.01 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $241.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.98.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,661 shares of company stock valued at $2,119,118 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.