Morgan Stanley Cuts IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) Price Target to $550.00

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $559.00 to $550.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

IDXX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $435.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on IDEXX Laboratories from $570.00 to $481.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised IDEXX Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Leerink Partnrs raised IDEXX Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on IDEXX Laboratories from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $517.29.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of IDXX stock opened at $418.75 on Wednesday. IDEXX Laboratories has a 12-month low of $398.50 and a 12-month high of $583.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $423.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $455.05.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.11. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 55.42% and a net margin of 22.53%. The company had revenue of $975.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that IDEXX Laboratories will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sophie V. Vandebroek sold 344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.44, for a total transaction of $144,631.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 905 shares in the company, valued at $380,498.20. The trade was a 27.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDEXX Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 16.7% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 672 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 185,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,957,000 after acquiring an additional 12,647 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 230.5% during the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 10,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,174,000 after acquiring an additional 7,041 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 17,238.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 4,059.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy.