Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Key Points

• UBS Group increased its price target for Labcorp (NYSE:LH) stock from $282 to $305, indicating a potential upside of 15.28% from its previous close.
• Other firms also raised their price targets, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $306 and Truist Financial at $310, while HSBC downgraded Labcorp to a "hold" rating.
• Labcorp reported earnings of $4.35 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.6%.
• Insiders sold a total of 11,834 shares of Labcorp stock last quarter, representing a significant decrease in their positions within the company.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities researchers at UBS Group from $282.00 to $305.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the medical research company's stock. UBS Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 15.33% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LH. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Labcorp from $283.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Labcorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 target price (up from $260.00) on shares of Labcorp in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Labcorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Labcorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Labcorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $3.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $264.46. 1,152,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 840,803. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Labcorp has a 52-week low of $209.38 and a 52-week high of $283.47. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $254.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.60. The company has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.82.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.14 by $0.21. Labcorp had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 5.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Labcorp will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total transaction of $200,833.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $497,602.04. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.00, for a total transaction of $132,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,223,990. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,834 shares of company stock valued at $2,928,714. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Labcorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth $239,811,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,595,957 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $365,985,000 after buying an additional 959,981 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 37,334.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 809,702 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $188,450,000 after buying an additional 807,539 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,021,104 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $234,160,000 after buying an additional 380,624 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,421,112 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $330,750,000 after buying an additional 318,865 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Labcorp Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.