Morgan Stanley Lowers IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) Price Target to $550.00

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $559.00 to $550.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 29.72% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $630.00 to $575.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $570.00 to $481.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partners started coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised IDEXX Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.29.

IDEXX Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of IDXX opened at $423.99 on Wednesday. IDEXX Laboratories has a 52 week low of $398.50 and a 52 week high of $583.39. The firm has a market cap of $34.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.89, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $423.93 and a 200-day moving average of $454.80.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.11. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 55.42% and a net margin of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $975.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that IDEXX Laboratories will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at IDEXX Laboratories

In other news, Director Sophie V. Vandebroek sold 344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.44, for a total value of $144,631.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $380,498.20. The trade was a 27.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IDEXX Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 3.9% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 2.4% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy.