StockNews.com Downgrades IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

IDXX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays upped their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $481.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $559.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of IDEXX Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $475.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, IDEXX Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $533.75.

IDEXX Laboratories Price Performance

IDXX stock opened at $422.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $437.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $443.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. IDEXX Laboratories has a 12-month low of $398.50 and a 12-month high of $548.88.

Insider Transactions at IDEXX Laboratories

In other news, EVP George Fennell sold 9,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.53, for a total value of $4,618,824.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,176 shares in the company, valued at $3,781,645.28. The trade was a 54.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director M Anne Szostak sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.94, for a total value of $1,397,820.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,242.34. This trade represents a 49.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDEXX Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $412,258,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE boosted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 5,439.3% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 473,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,696,000 after buying an additional 464,791 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $156,412,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 701.6% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 422,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,527,000 after buying an additional 369,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 265.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 435,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,867,000 after buying an additional 316,048 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

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.