StockNews.com Upgrades Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) to “Buy”

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Perrigo from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Perrigo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Perrigo Stock Performance

PRGO opened at $25.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.49 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.02. Perrigo has a 1-year low of $23.89 and a 1-year high of $34.60.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 6.79% and a negative net margin of 2.81%. Perrigo’s quarterly revenue was down 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Perrigo

In other news, EVP Svend Andersen sold 28,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.75, for a total transaction of $785,325.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 73,553 shares in the company, valued at $2,041,095.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Svend Andersen sold 28,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.75, for a total value of $785,325.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,041,095.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Katherine C. Doyle sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $244,444.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,009 shares in the company, valued at $164,045.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,254 shares of company stock worth $1,411,969 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRGO. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,940,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,821,000 after buying an additional 881,191 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 675.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 970,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,926,000 after buying an additional 845,470 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Perrigo in the 1st quarter worth $19,040,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,882,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,701,000 after buying an additional 391,646 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Perrigo in the third quarter valued at about $9,846,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter health and wellness solutions to enhance individual well-being in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas and Consumer Self-Care International segments. The company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes self-care consumer products, such as upper respiratory products, including cough suppressants, expectorants, and sinus and allergy relief; nutrition products consisting of infant formulas and nutritional beverages; digestive health products, including antacids, anti-diarrheal, and anti-heartburn; pain and sleep-aids products comprising pain relievers and fever reducers; and oral care products, which include toothbrushes, toothbrush replacement heads, floss, flossers, whitening products, and toothbrush covers.