Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $85.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Hologic traded as low as $66.56 and last traded at $67.05, with a volume of 463757 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $72.80.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on HOLX. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hologic in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hologic from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Hologic in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Hologic from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Hologic from $84.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hologic presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Essex D. Mitchell sold 24,856 shares of Hologic stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,897,507.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 27,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,237.38. The trade was a 47.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Hologic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,007,000. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Hologic by 18.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,937,002 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $157,788,000 after acquiring an additional 306,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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. 94.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hologic Stock Down 10.1 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.86. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.01. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 19.59%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Hologic

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.