Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

LH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Labcorp from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Labcorp from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Labcorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $299.77.

Labcorp Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE LH traded down $3.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $266.72. 445,454 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 671,694. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.55. Labcorp has a twelve month low of $209.38 and a twelve month high of $293.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.13 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.21%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.150-16.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Labcorp will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Labcorp

In other Labcorp news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.75, for a total transaction of $1,509,498.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,574 shares in the company, valued at $23,010,068.50. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richelle P. Parham sold 7,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $1,782,248.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,817.32. This represents a 73.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Labcorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LH. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in Labcorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Labcorp in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Labcorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Labcorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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.