IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) Price Target Raised to $540.00

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) had its price objective increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $510.00 to $540.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $625.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $548.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded IDEXX Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IDEXX Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.11.

IDEXX Laboratories Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of IDXX opened at $546.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. IDEXX Laboratories has a 12-month low of $356.14 and a 12-month high of $548.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a PE ratio of 50.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $510.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $454.55.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.03. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 57.35% and a net margin of 22.76%. The business had revenue of $998.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $998.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that IDEXX Laboratories will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.34, for a total transaction of $645,548.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,724.34. This trade represents a 41.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 3.8% during the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 0.9% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 2,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 3.9% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 0.5% during the first quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 4,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,056,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

IDEXX Laboratories Company Profile

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.