Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $75.49 and last traded at $75.3950, with a volume of 308818 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Hologic from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Argus downgraded shares of Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hologic in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Hologic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $79.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore cut shares of Hologic from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.42.

Hologic Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.29. The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.73.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Hologic had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hologic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HBK Investments L P bought a new position in shares of Hologic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $625,716,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Hologic by 294.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,022,455 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $718,223,000 after purchasing an additional 8,227,318 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Hologic by 10,317.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,227,433 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $389,391,000 after purchasing an additional 5,177,255 shares during the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in Hologic in the fourth quarter valued at $316,396,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hologic in the 4th quarter valued at $284,254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Hologic Company Profile

Hologic, Inc (NASDAQ: HOLX) is a global medical technology company specializing in women’s health. Headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the company develops and manufactures diagnostic products, imaging systems and surgical solutions designed to detect, diagnose and treat diseases with a primary focus on breast and skeletal health, gynecological conditions and molecular diagnostics. Its product portfolio includes digital mammography systems, 3D mammography solutions, bone densitometry equipment and molecular assays for infectious disease and oncology applications.

Since its founding in 1985, Hologic has grown through both internal innovation and strategic acquisitions.