Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, signaling a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Canaccord Genuity and JPMorgan Chase both reduced their target prices for Perrigo, from $42.00 to $40.00 and from $38.00 to $35.00 respectively, while Weiss Ratings maintained a "sell" rating.
• Perrigo's most recent earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate of $0.57 compared to the expected $0.59, and a revenue decline of 0.9% year-over-year.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on PRGO. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Perrigo in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.00.

Perrigo Stock Performance

Shares of Perrigo stock opened at $21.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of -37.32 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Perrigo has a 12 month low of $20.51 and a 12 month high of $30.93.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 9.09% and a negative net margin of 1.86%.The business's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert Willis bought 1,488 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.10 per share, for a total transaction of $35,860.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 41,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,010,729.90. This represents a 3.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Geoffrey M. Parker bought 4,375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,493.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 33,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,602.39. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 10,118 shares of company stock valued at $232,699 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 91.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 62.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,218 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 2.8% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,984 shares of the company's stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 110.4% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Perrigo in the first quarter worth about $724,000. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter health and wellness solutions to enhance individual well-being in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas and Consumer Self-Care International segments. The company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes self-care consumer products, such as upper respiratory products, including cough suppressants, expectorants, and sinus and allergy relief; nutrition products consisting of infant formulas and nutritional beverages; digestive health products, including antacids, anti-diarrheal, and anti-heartburn; pain and sleep-aids products comprising pain relievers and fever reducers; and oral care products, which include toothbrushes, toothbrush replacement heads, floss, flossers, whitening products, and toothbrush covers.

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