Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $60.03 and last traded at $60.33, with a volume of 192481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HOLX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Hologic from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Hologic from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Hologic from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hologic in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hologic from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.62.

Hologic Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.97. The stock has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.01. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 18.42%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hologic, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOLX. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hologic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,414,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Hologic by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,580,519 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,959,000 after buying an additional 1,602,463 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Hologic in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,291,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Hologic by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,147,420 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $226,898,000 after acquiring an additional 668,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Hologic by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,070,384 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $293,434,000 after acquiring an additional 572,187 shares during the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hologic

Hologic, Inc develops, manufactures, and supplies diagnostics products, medical imaging systems, and surgical products for women's health through early detection and treatment. The company operates through four segments: Diagnostics, Breast Health, GYN Surgical, and Skeletal Health. It provides Aptima molecular diagnostic assays to detect the infectious microorganisms; Aptima viral load assays for Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and human cytomegalo virus; Aptima bacterial vaginosis and candida vaginitis assays for the diagnosis of vaginitis; Aptima SARS-CoV-2 and Panther Fusion SARS-CoV-2 assays to detect SARS-CoV-2; ThinPrep System for cytology applications; and Rapid Fetal Fibronectin Test that assists physicians in assessing the risk of pre-term birth.