Brokerages Set IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) Price Target at $539.63

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $539.63.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IDXX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $630.00 to $575.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of IDEXX Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of IDEXX Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $570.00 to $481.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sophie V. Vandebroek sold 344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.44, for a total value of $144,631.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,498.20. This trade represents a 27.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of IDEXX Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IDXX. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 52,746.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 528,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,669,890,000 after purchasing an additional 527,460 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 696.0% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 352,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,891,000 after purchasing an additional 308,493 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 3,325.0% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 220,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,229,000 after buying an additional 213,731 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 46.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 562,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,179,000 after acquiring an additional 177,226 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 4,193.1% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 128,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,601,000 after acquiring an additional 125,498 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IDEXX Laboratories Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ IDXX opened at $412.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. IDEXX Laboratories has a 12 month low of $398.50 and a 12 month high of $583.39. The company has a market capitalization of $33.80 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $427.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.82.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.11. IDEXX Laboratories had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 55.42%. The company had revenue of $975.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.53 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that IDEXX Laboratories will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy.