Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) Stock Price

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on HOLX. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Hologic in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Hologic from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group lifted 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. BNP Paribas raised Hologic to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hologic presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.92.

Hologic Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:HOLX opened at $68.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.97. Hologic has a 52-week low of $68.61 and a 52-week high of $84.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.50. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01. Hologic had a net margin of 19.59% and a return on equity of 19.79%. The business had revenue of $987.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $978.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hologic will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Hologic

In related news, COO Essex D. Mitchell sold 24,856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 27,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,237.38. The trade was a 47.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOLX. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hologic by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 8,348 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Hologic by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,131 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Hologic during the fourth quarter worth $1,861,000. First Community Trust NA grew its holdings in Hologic by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 17,165 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benson Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hologic in the fourth quarter valued at $4,832,000. 94.73% of the stock is 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.