Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $71.98, but opened at $73.74. Henry Schein shares last traded at $70.88, with a volume of 54,651 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Henry Schein from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Henry Schein from $83.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Henry Schein from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Henry Schein from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barrington Research dropped their price objective on Henry Schein from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.30.

Henry Schein Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $67.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.04. Henry Schein had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Henry Schein, Inc. will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Bradford C. Connett sold 4,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.15, for a total transaction of $287,161.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,688 shares in the company, valued at $4,460,251.20. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Philip A. Laskawy sold 2,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.04, for a total value of $184,988.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,762,147.20. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Henry Schein

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HSIC. Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Henry Schein during the fourth quarter valued at $182,988,000. Lyrical Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Henry Schein in the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,655,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Henry Schein in the fourth quarter worth $103,301,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Henry Schein by 254.2% in the fourth quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 1,637,808 shares of the company's stock worth $113,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Henry Schein by 102.1% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,465,007 shares of the company's stock worth $101,378,000 after acquiring an additional 740,007 shares during the last quarter. 96.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Henry Schein

Henry Schein, Inc provides health care products and services to dental practitioners, laboratories, physician practices, and ambulatory surgery centers, government, institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care clinics worldwide. It operates through two segments, Health Care Distribution, and Technology and Value-Added Services.