Roche (OTCMKTS:RHHBY) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Roche Holding AG (OTCMKTS:RHHBY) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $52.75, but opened at $55.86. Roche shares last traded at $55.59, with a volume of 380,102 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on RHHBY. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Roche from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Roche in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised Roche from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Roche in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Roche Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $54.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Institutional Trading of Roche

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Roche in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Renasant Bank bought a new position in Roche during the 2nd quarter valued at $210,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Roche during the 1st quarter valued at $208,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Roche in the 4th quarter worth $287,000. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its stake in shares of Roche by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter.

About Roche

Roche Holding AG is a Switzerland-based healthcare company that develops and provides pharmaceutical products and diagnostic solutions. Founded in 1896 and headquartered in Basel, Roche operates through two complementary divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics.

The Pharmaceuticals division focuses on medicines for oncology, immunology, neuroscience, ophthalmology, hematology and other therapeutic areas. Its portfolio includes treatments such as Ocrevus, Hemlibra, Perjeta, Tecentriq and Vabysmo.