StockNews.com Begins Coverage on IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday. The firm issued a buy rating on the stock.

IDXX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Atlantic Securities upped their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $470.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $582.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded IDEXX Laboratories from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Friday, November 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $514.75.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Down 0.6 %

IDEXX Laboratories stock traded down $2.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $471.36. 731,245 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 362,561. The company has a market capitalization of $39.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.70, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $481.48 and its 200 day moving average is $415.20. IDEXX Laboratories has a 52 week low of $317.06 and a 52 week high of $560.92.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 6th. The company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $828.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $820.91 million. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 124.51% and a net margin of 20.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Analysts predict that IDEXX Laboratories will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at IDEXX Laboratories

In related news, SVP Kathy V. Turner sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.59, for a total transaction of $1,009,180.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,723,874.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathy V. Turner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $505,040.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,482.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathy V. Turner sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.59, for a total value of $1,009,180.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,723,874.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of IDEXX Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 77.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.90% of the company’s stock.

About IDEXX Laboratories

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IDEXX Laboratories, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and distribution of products and services for the animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets. It operates through the following segments: Companion Animal Group (CAG), Water Quality Products (Water), Livestock, Poultry, and Dairy (LPD), and Other.