Wall Street Zen Upgrades Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, signaling increased confidence in the stock's future performance.
• Despite the upgrade, analysts have mixed opinions: JPMorgan reduced its price target to $35, while Canaccord Genuity lowered it to $40, with the current consensus rating remaining at "Hold."
• The stock opened at $22.65, with a 1-year low of $21.03 and a high of $30.93, highlighting significant price volatility and market interest.

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

Perrigo stock opened at $22.65 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.49 and a 200-day moving average of $26.15. Perrigo has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $30.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.05 and a beta of 0.48.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Perrigo's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Perrigo

In related news, Director Geoffrey M. Parker acquired 4,375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,493.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,602.39. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Eduardo Guarita Bezerra acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.74 per share, with a total value of $68,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,113,100.26. The trade was a 6.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 8,863 shares of company stock worth $204,575 over the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perrigo

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Perrigo by 41.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,073,026 shares of the company's stock worth $310,488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227,487 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Perrigo by 9.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,340,323 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,134,000 after acquiring an additional 637,678 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Perrigo by 2.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,135,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,085,000 after acquiring an additional 146,211 shares during the period. Ion Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Perrigo by 34.7% in the second quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,817,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,007,000 after acquiring an additional 983,727 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its stake in Perrigo by 23.1% in the first quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 3,285,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,116,000 after acquiring an additional 616,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.91% of the company's stock.

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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