Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Perrigo presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRGO opened at $21.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Perrigo has a 1 year low of $20.51 and a 1 year high of $30.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.83. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.03 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Geoffrey M. Parker acquired 4,375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,493.75. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,602.39. The trade was a 15.13% 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 link. Also, EVP Robert Willis bought 1,488 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.10 per share, with a total value of $35,860.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 41,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,010,729.90. The trade was a 3.68% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 10,118 shares of company stock worth $232,699 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perrigo

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Perrigo by 695.7% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 122,855 shares of the company's stock worth $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 107,416 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the third quarter valued at approximately $188,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 1.1% in the third quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 53,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Tower Group LLC raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 45.7% in the third quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 173,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,858,000 after buying an additional 54,327 shares in the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Perrigo Company Profile

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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