Short Interest in Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) Expands By 71.7%

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 8,301,510 shares, a growth of 71.7% from the February 12th total of 4,834,145 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,180,670 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,180,670 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hologic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hologic by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,340,785 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $543,486,000 after buying an additional 3,505,828 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hologic by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 81,755 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,518,000 after acquiring an additional 13,610 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Hologic by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 172,294 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,628,000 after acquiring an additional 29,143 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hologic by 23.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 437,338 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,516,000 after purchasing an additional 82,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in Hologic during the third quarter worth $4,161,000. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company’s stock.

Hologic Stock Down 0.1%

HOLX stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.12. 4,205,140 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,460,134. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.68. Hologic has a 12-month low of $51.90 and a 12-month high of $75.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Hologic had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Hologic will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on HOLX. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Hologic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $79.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hologic in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus lowered shares of Hologic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Evercore cut shares of Hologic from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hologic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.42.

About Hologic

Hologic, Inc (NASDAQ: HOLX) is a global medical technology company specializing in women’s health. Headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the company develops and manufactures diagnostic products, imaging systems and surgical solutions designed to detect, diagnose and treat diseases with a primary focus on breast and skeletal health, gynecological conditions and molecular diagnostics. Its product portfolio includes digital mammography systems, 3D mammography solutions, bone densitometry equipment and molecular assays for infectious disease and oncology applications.

Since its founding in 1985, Hologic has grown through both internal innovation and strategic acquisitions.