Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Stock

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.38% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LH. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.62.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.2 %

LH traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $230.02. The stock had a trading volume of 90,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 657,754. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $231.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $247.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 27.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 92,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,768,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $5,955,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.