Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

LH has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.33.

Labcorp Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE LH traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $276.81. 432,958 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 587,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.73. Labcorp has a 52 week low of $241.81 and a 52 week high of $293.72. The company has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $264.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.08.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 6.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Labcorp will post 18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In other news, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total transaction of $66,968.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,637.74. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total value of $1,502,313.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,291,053. This represents a 5.22% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,991 shares of company stock valued at $1,796,696. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $991,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Labcorp by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Labcorp by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 353,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $82,353,000 after acquiring an additional 121,304 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Labcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,873,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Labcorp by 83.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 86,046 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,588,000 after purchasing an additional 39,087 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

About Labcorp

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.