Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Stake in Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its holdings in Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) by 30.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,496 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,949 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Hologic were worth $324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HOLX. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Hologic by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,572,545 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $453,940,000 after buying an additional 2,174,093 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Hologic by 32.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 544,889 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Hologic by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,937,002 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $157,788,000 after purchasing an additional 306,562 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Hologic by 21.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Hologic by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 718,231 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $58,507,000 after purchasing an additional 231,578 shares during the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hologic

In related news, COO Essex D. Mitchell sold 24,856 shares of Hologic 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 directly owns 27,957 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,237.38. The trade was a 47.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hologic Stock Performance

Shares of HOLX opened at $63.24 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $71.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.22. Hologic, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.94 and a 12-month high of $84.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 3.03.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HOLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Hologic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Hologic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hologic from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hologic from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hologic in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.77.

Hologic 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.