LPL Financial LLC Increases Holdings in Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Hologic, Inc. by 17.3% in the first quarter, owning approximately $18.3 million worth of shares by the end of the reporting period.
• Hologic reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.08, beating analysts' expectations of $1.05, and had a revenue of $1.02 billion, slightly surpassing the forecast of $1.01 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have a moderate buy consensus rating on Hologic, with the current average price target set at $77.83.

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX - Free Report) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 296,846 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 43,706 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Hologic worth $18,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hologic by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,609,728 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $408,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,692,177 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Hologic by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,070,384 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $293,434,000 after buying an additional 572,187 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Hologic by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,147,420 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $226,898,000 after purchasing an additional 668,086 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Hologic by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,770,281 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $199,723,000 after acquiring an additional 307,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Hologic by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,625,290 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $189,264,000 after purchasing an additional 169,427 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.73% of the company's stock.

Hologic Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of HOLX stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $67.93. 1,264,393 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,842,736. The stock has a market cap of $15.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Hologic, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.90 and a fifty-two week high of $84.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.77.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Hologic had a net margin of 13.79% and a return on equity of 19.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. Hologic's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HOLX. Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on Hologic in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Hologic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $87.00 in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hologic from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Hologic in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hologic from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hologic currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.83.

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.