Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stake in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) by 52.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 206,551 shares of the company’s stock after selling 228,498 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.25% of IDEXX Laboratories worth $86,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $948,279,000 after acquiring an additional 37,734 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in IDEXX Laboratories by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,005,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,163,000 after buying an additional 82,264 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,160,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,999,000 after buying an additional 74,324 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $412,258,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 59,810.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,856,950,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IDXX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $548.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded IDEXX Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on IDEXX Laboratories from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on IDEXX Laboratories from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $546.00.

IDEXX Laboratories Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of IDXX stock opened at $524.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $466.92 and its 200 day moving average is $442.89. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 12-month low of $356.14 and a 12-month high of $530.73.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.03. IDEXX Laboratories had a return on equity of 55.82% and a net margin of 22.78%. The company had revenue of $998.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $998.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. IDEXX Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IDEXX Laboratories

In related news, Director M Anne Szostak sold 1,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.34, for a total value of $645,548.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,724.34. This represents a 41.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.