Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,440,000 shares, a decline of 25.0% from the February 13th total of 5,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hologic Trading Up 1.8 %

HOLX traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $61.82. 2,623,431 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,704,709. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $67.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 2.78. Hologic has a 52 week low of $59.57 and a 52 week high of $84.67.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.01. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 18.42%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hologic will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HOLX. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hologic by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,572,545 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $453,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,174,093 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hologic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,414,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Hologic by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,580,519 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $257,959,000 after buying an additional 1,602,463 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hologic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,291,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Hologic by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,147,420 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $226,898,000 after buying an additional 668,086 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Hologic from $84.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Hologic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BNP Paribas raised Hologic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Hologic from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Hologic from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.62.

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.