Citigroup Lowers Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) to Neutral

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Tuesday, FinViz reports. They presently have a $85.00 target price on the medical equipment provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $95.00. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.35% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Hologic in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Hologic in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Hologic from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hologic from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Hologic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.60.

Hologic Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:HOLX opened at $81.46 on Tuesday. Hologic has a 1 year low of $64.02 and a 1 year high of $84.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.33. The stock has a market cap of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.59%. Hologic’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hologic will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hologic

In other Hologic news, insider Brandon Schnittker sold 476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.11, for a total transaction of $39,560.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $310,415.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hologic news, insider Brandon Schnittker sold 476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.11, for a total value of $39,560.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at $310,415.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen P. Macmillan sold 3,672 shares of Hologic stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $294,237.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,157,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,755,443.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,469,973. 1.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hologic

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hologic in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Hologic during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hologic during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hologic in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Hologic during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 94.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.