Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $90.00 target price on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HOLX. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hologic from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Hologic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup lowered shares of Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Hologic from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Hologic from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Hologic Price Performance

NASDAQ HOLX traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.18. The company had a trading volume of 730,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,639,863. Hologic has a 52 week low of $70.36 and a 52 week high of $84.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.52.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.01. The company had revenue of $987.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $978.25 million. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 19.59%. Hologic’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Hologic will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hologic

In other news, COO Essex D. Mitchell sold 24,856 shares of Hologic stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,897,507.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 27,957 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,237.38. This trade represents a 47.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hologic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HOLX. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hologic in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hologic during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of Hologic by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 33,177 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hologic in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Hologic by 38.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hologic Company Profile

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.