Short Interest in Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) Increases By 6.4%

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,510,000 shares, a growth of 6.4% from the December 15th total of 5,180,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Essex D. Mitchell sold 24,856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,897,507.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 27,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,237.38. This trade represents a 47.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Hologic by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 63,744 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,595,000 after acquiring an additional 19,688 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Hologic by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 32,588 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 14,487 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in Hologic by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 357,735 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,714 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its holdings in Hologic by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 130,373 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $9,399,000 after buying an additional 3,655 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Hologic by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,758 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Hologic Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HOLX traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.73. 6,395,054 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,046,611. Hologic has a 1-year low of $68.61 and a 1-year high of $84.67. The company has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $74.84 and its 200-day moving average is $78.41.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01. Hologic had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 19.59%. The business had revenue of $987.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $978.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Hologic will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HOLX shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Hologic from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Hologic from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Hologic from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Hologic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hologic currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.92.

Hologic Company Profile

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.