Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $300.00 to $309.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 0.80% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on LH. Weiss Ratings raised Labcorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $306.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Labcorp from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.82.

Labcorp Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:LH traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $306.54. 153,776 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 689,539. The company has a fifty day moving average of $275.66 and a 200 day moving average of $271.54. Labcorp has a 12 month low of $244.52 and a 12 month high of $316.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.87.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $4.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.78 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.35 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.100-18.550 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Labcorp will post 18.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Labcorp news, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 92 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total transaction of $26,329.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,117,285.76. The trade was a 2.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total value of $66,968.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,637.74. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 6,991 shares of company stock worth $1,796,696 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Labcorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Labcorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,850,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,471,326,000 after purchasing an additional 37,197 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Labcorp by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,356,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,343,922,000 after acquiring an additional 2,719,475 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Labcorp by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,226,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $607,241,000 after acquiring an additional 22,170 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Labcorp by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,137,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $534,023,000 after acquiring an additional 13,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Labcorp by 15.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,105,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $604,488,000 after acquiring an additional 289,029 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Labcorp Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp (NYSE: LH), is a global life sciences company that provides comprehensive clinical laboratory and drug development services. The company operates a broad network of laboratories, patient service centers and specialty testing sites to deliver diagnostic information and testing solutions that support patient care, clinical decision-making and population health initiatives.

Labcorp’s core businesses encompass clinical laboratory testing and pharmaceutical development services.