Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Upgraded to “Buy” at HSBC

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $410.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock. HSBC‘s target price points to a potential upside of 11.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Labcorp from $300.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Leerink Partners set a $410.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Labcorp from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.08.

Labcorp Trading Up 4.0%

NYSE LH opened at $368.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $324.51 and a 200 day moving average of $289.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Labcorp has a 1 year low of $244.52 and a 1 year high of $371.00.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $4.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $0.14. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.88% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Labcorp will post 18.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.02, for a total value of $954,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,087,165.26. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 4,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.37, for a total transaction of $1,495,807.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 102,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,858,749.05. The trade was a 4.35% 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. Insiders sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock worth $2,839,263 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Labcorp by 1.0% in the first 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 2.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,332,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,569,000 after purchasing an additional 28,584 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Labcorp by 19.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 820,442 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $218,901,000 after buying an additional 133,549 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new stake in Labcorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $168,222,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 47.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 579,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $154,493,000 after buying an additional 185,847 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Labcorp Company Profile

Labcorp (NYSE: LH), formally Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, is a global life sciences and healthcare company headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina. The company provides laboratory testing and diagnostic services to physicians, hospitals, health systems, employers, insurers and consumers.

Through its diagnostics operations, Labcorp offers routine and specialty testing, oncology diagnostics, women’s health testing, genetic testing, pathology services and other laboratory services.