Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX)

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $90.00 price objective on the medical equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 25.61% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Hologic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Hologic from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Hologic from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Hologic from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

Hologic Stock Performance

HOLX stock opened at $71.65 on Thursday. Hologic has a 1 year low of $70.36 and a 1 year high of $84.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 3.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.52.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01. The business had revenue of $987.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $978.25 million. Hologic had a net margin of 19.59% and a return on equity of 19.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Hologic will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hologic

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hologic by 0.3% in the third quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 48,696 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,967,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Hologic by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 692 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Hologic by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 484 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Hologic by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,473 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Hologic by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,519 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

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.