StockNews.com Downgrades IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

IDXX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $481.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $559.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $475.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of IDEXX Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $533.75.

IDEXX Laboratories Trading Up 1.7 %

IDXX stock opened at $422.36 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $437.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $446.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.95. IDEXX Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $398.50 and a fifty-two week high of $548.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director M Anne Szostak sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.94, for a total transaction of $1,397,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,426,242.34. The trade was a 49.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP George Fennell sold 9,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.53, for a total transaction of $4,618,824.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,781,645.28. This trade represents a 54.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of IDEXX Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IDXX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in IDEXX Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $412,258,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 5,439.3% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 473,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,696,000 after purchasing an additional 464,791 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $156,412,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 701.6% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 422,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,527,000 after purchasing an additional 369,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 265.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 435,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,867,000 after buying an additional 316,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Company Profile

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.