Stifel Nicolaus Upgrades IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) to “Buy”

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $700.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $640.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 11.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on IDXX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $550.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $700.00 price target (up from $510.00) on shares of IDEXX Laboratories in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group began coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $720.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $722.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $662.50.

IDEXX Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IDXX opened at $629.51 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $637.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $568.60. IDEXX Laboratories has a 1-year low of $356.14 and a 1-year high of $688.12. The firm has a market cap of $50.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.35. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 64.42% and a net margin of 24.41%.The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. IDEXX Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.400-12.760 EPS. Analysts anticipate that IDEXX Laboratories will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at IDEXX Laboratories

In other IDEXX Laboratories news, CEO Jonathan Jay Mazelsky sold 29,260 shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.98, for a total transaction of $18,491,734.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 83,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,650,885.78. The trade was a 25.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director M Anne Szostak sold 2,187 shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $647.33, for a total value of $1,415,710.71. Following the sale, the director directly owned 262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,600.46. This trade represents a 89.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 54,057 shares of company stock valued at $34,293,468 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDEXX Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IDXX. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $29,000. WealthCollab LLC bought a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $30,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 55.9% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 53 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 55.6% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Company Profile

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.