Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 1,168 Shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. $IDXX

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 35,686 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in IDEXX Laboratories were worth $18,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of IDEXX Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $628,223,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 52.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 838,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,335,000 after purchasing an additional 288,471 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of IDEXX Laboratories by 30,484.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 234,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,336,000 after purchasing an additional 233,508 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in IDEXX Laboratories by 97.3% during the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 401,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,146,000 after buying an additional 197,808 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $85,341,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

IDEXX Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of IDXX opened at $676.04 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $546.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $573.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.27 billion, a PE ratio of 45.59 and a beta of 1.55. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. has a 1 year low of $500.61 and a 1 year high of $769.98.

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.25. IDEXX Laboratories had a net margin of 25.36% and a return on equity of 71.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. will post 15.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IDEXX Laboratories News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting IDEXX Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks article says IDEXX’s above-average financial growth could help it outperform, bolstering the growth-investment case. Zacks growth-investor article
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on IDXX, a potentially supportive analyst signal; the available report does not state the revised target. Morgan Stanley price-target report
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat expectations: IDEXX reported EPS of $3.96 versus $3.71 expected and revenue of $1.21 billion versus $1.19 billion expected. Revenue grew 9.9% year over year. IDEXX quarterly results analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Four directors and executives sold a combined 39,225 shares on November 4, worth about $27.4 million, and each reduced their reported holdings. The sales may weigh on sentiment, although insider transactions do not by themselves indicate a negative company outlook. Insider-trading report
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha article downgraded IDXX, arguing the shares are expensive despite the company’s business quality. Valuation concerns could temper the positive effect of earnings growth. IDEXX valuation downgrade

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on IDXX. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $725.00 to $715.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of IDEXX Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of IDEXX Laboratories from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on IDEXX Laboratories from $805.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research dropped coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a research note on Friday, October 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IDEXX Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IDEXX Laboratories news, EVP Michael Lane sold 3,979 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $688.64, for a total value of $2,740,098.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,806,896.64. This represents a 49.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Mazelsky sold 25,140 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $703.19, for a total transaction of $17,678,196.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 83,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,929,431.57. This represents a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 41,428 shares of company stock valued at $28,567,934 over the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

IDEXX Laboratories Company Profile

IDEXX Laboratories develops and sells diagnostic, technology and software products for veterinary, livestock and water-testing markets. Its veterinary offerings include in-clinic diagnostic instruments and tests, reference laboratory services, digital imaging and practice-management software that help veterinary professionals assess animal health and manage their practices.

The company also provides diagnostic tests and related services for livestock and poultry, as well as products used to monitor water quality.