Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $63.57 and last traded at $63.87, with a volume of 140290 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HOLX. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Hologic from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hologic in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Hologic from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hologic from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Hologic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.77.

Hologic Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 3.49.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.01. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 18.42%. On average, research analysts predict that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hologic

In related news, COO Essex D. Mitchell sold 24,856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,897,507.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 27,957 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,237.38. This represents a 47.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hologic

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Hologic by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 48,696 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,967,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Hologic by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 692 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hologic by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 484 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Hologic by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,131 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Hologic by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,473 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

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.