Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Stock Moved Up to “Buy” by HSBC

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) was upgraded by research analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $410.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock. HSBC‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.40% from the stock’s previous close.

LH has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Labcorp from $361.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Labcorp from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho set a $355.00 price objective on Labcorp in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.08.

Labcorp Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Labcorp stock opened at $368.04 on Thursday. Labcorp has a 1-year low of $244.52 and a 1-year high of $371.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $324.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.86.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $4.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $0.14. Labcorp had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 6.88%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. Labcorp’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Labcorp will post 18.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Labcorp

In related news, Director Kerrii Anderson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.02, for a total value of $954,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,087,165.26. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Adam Schechter sold 4,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.37, for a total value of $1,495,807.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,858,749.05. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $2,839,263. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Labcorp by 4.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 687 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 13.8% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Labcorp by 2.1% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 4.5% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Company Profile

Labcorp (NYSE: LH), formally Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, is a global life sciences and healthcare company headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina. The company provides laboratory testing and diagnostic services to physicians, hospitals, health systems, employers, insurers and consumers.

Through its diagnostics operations, Labcorp offers routine and specialty testing, oncology diagnostics, women’s health testing, genetic testing, pathology services and other laboratory services.