ResMed (NYSE:RMD) Coverage Initiated at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• ResMed has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by Wells Fargo, while other analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $292.91.
• The company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 10.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity includes notable sales by executives, such as CEO Michael J. Farrell selling 8,009 shares at an average price of $282.85.

Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of ResMed (NYSE:RMD - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set an "equal weight" rating and a $280.00 price target on the medical equipment provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.53% from the stock's previous close.

RMD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on ResMed from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on ResMed from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of ResMed in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. William Blair upgraded ResMed to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded ResMed to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.91.

ResMed Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of RMD opened at $273.10 on Monday. ResMed has a 52 week low of $199.92 and a 52 week high of $293.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a current ratio of 3.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $278.15 and a 200-day moving average of $256.30.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. ResMed had a return on equity of 25.62% and a net margin of 27.22%.ResMed's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ResMed will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ResMed

In other news, General Counsel Michael J. Rider sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $27,436.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 11,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,107,675.72. This represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Hernandez sold 2,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.10, for a total transaction of $739,282.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,161,319.50. This trade represents a 38.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,743 shares of company stock valued at $5,284,514 in the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ResMed

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in ResMed by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,746,925 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $4,836,707,000 after purchasing an additional 253,223 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in ResMed by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,615,852 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,706,890,000 after purchasing an additional 64,448 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ResMed by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,215,145 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,083,409,000 after purchasing an additional 98,717 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in ResMed by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,744,541 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $390,516,000 after purchasing an additional 41,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in ResMed during the 2nd quarter valued at about $306,452,000. Institutional investors own 54.98% of the company's stock.

About ResMed

ResMed Inc develops, manufactures, distributes, and markets medical devices and cloud-based software applications for the healthcare markets. The company operates in two segments, Sleep and Respiratory Care, and Software as a Service. It offers various products and solutions for a range of respiratory disorders, including ApneaLink Air, a portable diagnostic device that measures oximetry, respiratory effort, pulse, nasal flow, and snoring; and NightOwl, a portable, cloud-connected, and disposable diagnostic device that measures AHI based on derived peripheral arterial tone, actigraphy, and oximetry over several nights.