Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) Stock Price Down 6% – Here’s Why

Neogen Co. (NASDAQ:NEOG)’s stock price dropped 6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $8.33 and last traded at $8.15. Approximately 257,298 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,242,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NEOG. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Neogen in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down previously from $16.50) on shares of Neogen in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Neogen Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 3.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -3.92 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.59.

Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.12. Neogen had a positive return on equity of 2.89% and a negative net margin of 52.12%. The company had revenue of $231.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.16 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Neogen’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Neogen Co. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Neogen

In other news, CEO John Edward Adent acquired 23,035 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.03 per share, for a total transaction of $254,076.05. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 269,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,968,878.92. This trade represents a 9.36 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David H. Naemura bought 14,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.11 per share, with a total value of $164,428.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,531.74. This represents a 31.74 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Neogen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEOG. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Neogen by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Neogen by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,826,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,012,000 after buying an additional 423,923 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Neogen by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 549,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,673,000 after buying an additional 43,621 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Neogen in the 4th quarter valued at $840,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of Neogen by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 47,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846 shares during the last quarter. 96.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Neogen

Neogen Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of various products and services dedicated to food and animal safety worldwide. It operates through two segments, Food Safety and Animal Safety. The Food Safety segment offers diagnostic test kits and related products to detect dangerous and unintended substances in food and animal feed, including foodborne pathogens, spoilage organisms, natural toxins, food allergens, genetic modifications, ruminant by-products, meat speciation, drug residues, pesticide residues, and general sanitation concerns; and AccuPoint Advanced rapid sanitation test to detect the presence of adenosine triphosphate, a chemical found in living cells, as well as provides genomics-based diagnostic technology and software systems that help testers to objectively analyze and store their results and perform analysis on the results from multiple locations over extended periods.