Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) Lowered to Neutral at Citigroup

Citigroup downgraded shares of Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $85.00 price target on the medical equipment provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $95.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Hologic from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Hologic in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Hologic from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Hologic in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Hologic in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $87.00.

Hologic Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HOLX opened at $80.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.36. The company has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.98. Hologic has a 1-year low of $64.02 and a 1-year high of $84.67.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Benjamin Jordan Cohn sold 5,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $417,575.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,476 shares in the company, valued at $858,927.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hologic news, insider Benjamin Jordan Cohn sold 5,093 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $417,575.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,476 shares in the company, valued at $858,927.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brandon Schnittker sold 476 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,415.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,280 shares of company stock worth $1,469,973 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOLX. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hologic by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Hologic by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 48,242 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,447,000 after purchasing an additional 19,660 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Hologic by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 409,063 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,228,000 after acquiring an additional 14,100 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hologic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,000. Finally, Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Hologic during the fourth quarter worth about $407,000. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.