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LabCorp (LH) at a 52-Week High: What's Driving the Stock?
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Shares of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH - Free Report) scaled a new 52-week high of $165.18 on Dec 20, closing nominally lower at $163.03. The company has gained 8.4% over the last six months, much higher than the broader industry’s gain of 2.4% with respect to share price. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion.
Taking the stable stock performance into consideration, we expect LabCorp to scale higher in the coming quarters. Also, the company’s long-term expected earnings growth rate of 9.9% holds promise.
Further, the company’s estimate revision trend for the current year is favorable. In the past 60 days, five estimates moved up while four shifted down. Consequently, estimates were up from $9.51 per share to $9.52.
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Price and Consensus
The company also has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 2.3%. Its positive long-term growth of 9.9% holds promise as well.
LabCorp recently announced that Agilent’s Dako pathology division’s development — the PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx assay — is now available in the United States for new expanded use. Per LabCorp, this test received U.S. approval to be used as a complementary diagnostic with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s (BMY - Free Report) OPDIVO (nivolumab) for two new indications — metastatic urothelial carcinoma or bladder cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
Encouraged by a strong third-quarter show and a gradually improving foreign exchange scenario, the company raised its 2017 outlook.
Net revenue growth is maintained in the band of 8-8.5% year over year, ahead of the earlier range of 5-6.5%. Free cash flow expectation has been raised to a new band of $970-$1010 million (previous range: $925-$975 million) up 8-13% from the prior year.
In the recent past, the company successfully closed the Chiltern International Group’s buyout, a specialty contract research organization. Chiltern is a major partner of LabCorp, serving the top 20 biopharma segments and helping the company focus on the high-growth emerging and mid-market biopharma segments. Following this takeover, the company’s Covance Drug Development reported strong growth in the third quarter after several quarters of tepid performance.
athenahealth has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 22.3%. The stock has rallied roughly 27.3% over a year.
Align Technology has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 28.9%. The stock has gained 137.9% in a year.
Zacks’ Best Private Investment Ideas
While we are happy to share many articles like this on the website, our best recommendations and most in-depth research are not available to the public.
Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time. Our experts cover all kinds of trades… from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors.
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LabCorp (LH) at a 52-Week High: What's Driving the Stock?
Shares of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH - Free Report) scaled a new 52-week high of $165.18 on Dec 20, closing nominally lower at $163.03. The company has gained 8.4% over the last six months, much higher than the broader industry’s gain of 2.4% with respect to share price. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion.
Taking the stable stock performance into consideration, we expect LabCorp to scale higher in the coming quarters. Also, the company’s long-term expected earnings growth rate of 9.9% holds promise.
Further, the company’s estimate revision trend for the current year is favorable. In the past 60 days, five estimates moved up while four shifted down. Consequently, estimates were up from $9.51 per share to $9.52.
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Price and Consensus
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Price and Consensus | Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Quote
The company also has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 2.3%. Its positive long-term growth of 9.9% holds promise as well.
LabCorp recently announced that Agilent’s Dako pathology division’s development — the PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx assay — is now available in the United States for new expanded use. Per LabCorp, this test received U.S. approval to be used as a complementary diagnostic with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s (BMY - Free Report) OPDIVO (nivolumab) for two new indications — metastatic urothelial carcinoma or bladder cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
Encouraged by a strong third-quarter show and a gradually improving foreign exchange scenario, the company raised its 2017 outlook.
Net revenue growth is maintained in the band of 8-8.5% year over year, ahead of the earlier range of 5-6.5%. Free cash flow expectation has been raised to a new band of $970-$1010 million (previous range: $925-$975 million) up 8-13% from the prior year.
In the recent past, the company successfully closed the Chiltern International Group’s buyout, a specialty contract research organization. Chiltern is a major partner of LabCorp, serving the top 20 biopharma segments and helping the company focus on the high-growth emerging and mid-market biopharma segments. Following this takeover, the company’s Covance Drug Development reported strong growth in the third quarter after several quarters of tepid performance.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
LabCorp carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A few better-ranked medical stocks are athenahealth, Inc. and Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN - Free Report) , both of which sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
athenahealth has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 22.3%. The stock has rallied roughly 27.3% over a year.
Align Technology has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 28.9%. The stock has gained 137.9% in a year.
Zacks’ Best Private Investment Ideas
While we are happy to share many articles like this on the website, our best recommendations and most in-depth research are not available to the public.
Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time. Our experts cover all kinds of trades… from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors.
Click here for Zacks' private trades >>