Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,180,000 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the August 31st total of 5,610,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Hologic in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Hologic in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Hologic from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Hologic in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christiana Stamoulis sold 9,039 shares of Hologic stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $718,600.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,615,024. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hologic news, Director Christiana Stamoulis sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total transaction of $718,600.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,615,024. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brandon Schnittker sold 476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.11, for a total value of $39,560.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $310,415.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,280 shares of company stock worth $1,469,973 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hologic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOLX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Hologic by 77.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,297,197 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $490,931,000 after acquiring an additional 2,753,016 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Hologic during the first quarter worth approximately $120,827,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Hologic by 117.4% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,163,718 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $154,598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168,564 shares during the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hologic by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,338,970 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $173,669,000 after acquiring an additional 885,524 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Hologic by 1,023.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 895,699 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $66,506,000 after purchasing an additional 815,960 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Hologic Price Performance

HOLX stock traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 557,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,594,346. Hologic has a fifty-two week low of $64.02 and a fifty-two week high of $84.67. The stock has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.33.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. Hologic had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 19.53%. Hologic’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Hologic will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

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.