Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Holdings in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 7.9%, acquiring 1,426 additional shares, bringing their total holdings to 19,420 shares worth $8,155,000.
• Despite recent stock performance fluctuations, analysts have raised their price targets on IDEXX, with Stifel Nicolaus upgrading the target from $510 to $540, and Morgan Stanley increasing theirs from $548 to $558.
• IDEXX Laboratories reported a net margin of 22.76% during their last earnings call, with a revenue of $998.43 million, slightly beating analysts' expectations.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,420 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in IDEXX Laboratories were worth $8,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IDXX. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,446 shares of the company's stock worth $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 3.8% in the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 3.9% in the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 641 shares of the company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 1.9% in the first quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the company's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at IDEXX Laboratories

In other news, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.34, for a total value of $645,548.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $922,724.34. The trade was a 41.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Price Performance

IDXX stock traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $535.54. 760,497 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 518,616. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $531.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $471.47. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 12 month low of $356.14 and a 12 month high of $579.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.50, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.54.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.03. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 57.35% and a net margin of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $998.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $998.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IDXX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $625.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised IDEXX Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $548.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IDEXX Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $557.88.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy.