iRhythm Technologies (NASDAQ:IRTC) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens upgraded iRhythm Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating, adding to generally bullish analyst sentiment on the stock. Across coverage, the shares have an average rating of “Buy” with an average price target of $184.71.
• Recent earnings beat expectations: iRhythm reported a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.35 per share versus the $0.56 estimate, while revenue of $199.39 million also topped forecasts. Revenue rose 25.6% from a year earlier.
• Institutional investors have been accumulating shares, with several large funds making major increases in their positions. The stock was also trading up 1.5% on the day, despite remaining well below its 52-week high.

iRhythm Technologies (NASDAQ:IRTC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Stephens to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on IRTC. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of iRhythm Technologies from $180.00 to $152.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded iRhythm Technologies from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on iRhythm Technologies from $225.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of iRhythm Technologies in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on iRhythm Technologies from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $184.71.

iRhythm Technologies Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of IRTC stock opened at $107.67 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $113.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.43. The company has a current ratio of 5.17, a quick ratio of 4.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -125.20 and a beta of 1.27. iRhythm Technologies has a twelve month low of $100.85 and a twelve month high of $212.00.

iRhythm Technologies (NASDAQ:IRTC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.21. iRhythm Technologies had a negative net margin of 3.53% and a negative return on equity of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of $199.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $194.11 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.97) earnings per share. iRhythm Technologies's revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that iRhythm Technologies will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar acquired 5,312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.71 per share, for a total transaction of $56,891.52. Following the acquisition, the director owned 25,611 shares in the company, valued at $274,293.81. The trade was a 26.17% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in iRhythm Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $209,732,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in iRhythm Technologies by 197.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 826,376 shares of the company's stock worth $146,632,000 after purchasing an additional 548,519 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in iRhythm Technologies by 6,415.4% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 541,039 shares of the company's stock worth $93,053,000 after purchasing an additional 532,735 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its position in shares of iRhythm Technologies by 24,782.1% during the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 335,908 shares of the company's stock worth $57,773,000 after purchasing an additional 334,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of iRhythm Technologies by 2,023.1% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 313,094 shares of the company's stock worth $48,204,000 after purchasing an additional 298,347 shares in the last quarter.

iRhythm Technologies Company Profile

iRhythm Technologies, Inc is a medical technology company that develops and commercializes wearable cardiac monitoring devices and associated data analytics services. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company's flagship product is the Zio® patch, a discreet, single-use, continuous ECG recorder designed to monitor heart rhythms for up to 14 days. iRhythm's digital diagnostics platform combines biosensor technology with proprietary algorithms to detect arrhythmias and streamline data interpretation for physicians.

The Zio service is prescribed by cardiologists and other healthcare providers to aid in the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, bradycardia, tachycardia and other rhythm disorders.

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