Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $83.72, but opened at $79.98. Hologic shares last traded at $79.47, with a volume of 421,077 shares.

HOLX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Hologic from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Hologic in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup cut Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Hologic from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hologic from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hologic

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Hologic by 188.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 20,464 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 13,380 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Hologic by 51.4% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 518,596 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,430,000 after acquiring an additional 176,006 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Hologic by 18.3% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,184,427 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $170,297,000 after purchasing an additional 338,212 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its stake in Hologic by 224.5% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 95,400 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after buying an additional 66,000 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Hologic by 2.0% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,934,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $150,840,000 after buying an additional 37,136 shares during the period. 94.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hologic Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.11. The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01. Hologic had a net margin of 19.59% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The business had revenue of $987.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $978.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.