Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) Short Interest Up 6.4% in January

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) saw a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,510,000 shares, a growth of 6.4% from the December 31st total of 5,180,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Hologic Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HOLX opened at $71.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.03. The company has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 3.03. Hologic has a one year low of $68.61 and a one year high of $84.67.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.01. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 19.59%. The firm had revenue of $987.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $978.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Hologic will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hologic

In other news, COO Essex D. Mitchell sold 24,856 shares of the company’s 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 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hologic

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in Hologic by 64.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,572,545 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $453,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,174,093 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Hologic by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,213,607 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $159,911,000 after acquiring an additional 544,889 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Hologic by 18.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,937,002 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $157,788,000 after purchasing an additional 306,562 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Hologic by 21.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,358,945 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $110,700,000 after purchasing an additional 238,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Hologic by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 718,231 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $58,507,000 after purchasing an additional 231,578 shares in the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HOLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Hologic from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Hologic in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on shares of Hologic from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Hologic from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Hologic from $84.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.92.

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.