Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $270.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.31% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LH. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.62.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $226.31 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $247.99. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 43.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $231.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.10.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 27.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 92,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,768,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,776,000 after buying an additional 6,651 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,955,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.