Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on HOLX. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Hologic in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Hologic from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hologic from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Hologic in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Hologic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hologic presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.56.

Hologic Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HOLX traded up $0.63 on Friday, reaching $76.54. 2,069,424 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,754,576. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.97. Hologic has a 52 week low of $64.02 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.89 and a quick ratio of 3.18. The firm has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical equipment provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. Hologic had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. Hologic’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hologic will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hologic

In other news, Director Scott T. Garrett sold 16,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.50, for a total value of $1,241,295.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,670,130.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hologic news, Director Scott T. Garrett sold 16,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.50, for a total transaction of $1,241,295.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 48,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,670,130.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles J. Dockendorff sold 1,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.21, for a total value of $111,647.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,802.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HOLX. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Hologic by 4.5% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,616,999 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $113,077,000 after purchasing an additional 69,494 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Hologic during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,057,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC raised its stake in Hologic by 96.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 9,272 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 4,542 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in Hologic by 186.7% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 38,404 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,665,000 after acquiring an additional 25,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Hologic by 145.3% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 790 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hologic Company Profile

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.