Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 26,661 Shares of Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 125,985 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 26,661 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Hologic were worth $9,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Hologic by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 253,140 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Hologic during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,891,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Hologic by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,504,503 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $108,460,000 after purchasing an additional 101,542 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Hologic by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,067 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $91,848,000 after purchasing an additional 157,731 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Hologic by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 22,014 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after buying an additional 6,952 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HOLX shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Hologic in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hologic in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC cut Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners lowered Hologic from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Hologic from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.62.

Hologic Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HOLX opened at $61.32 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.29. The stock has a market cap of $13.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.49, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Hologic, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.34 and a 12 month high of $84.67.

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

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.