Short Interest in IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) Expands By 29.9%

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,740,000 shares, an increase of 29.9% from the February 13th total of 2,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 686,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Transactions at IDEXX Laboratories

In related news, EVP George Fennell sold 9,986 shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.53, for a total value of $4,618,824.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,176 shares in the company, valued at $3,781,645.28. The trade was a 54.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director M Anne Szostak sold 3,000 shares of IDEXX Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.94, for a total value of $1,397,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,242.34. The trade was a 49.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDEXX Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IDXX. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in IDEXX Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in IDEXX Laboratories by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on IDXX shares. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on IDEXX Laboratories in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $481.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of IDEXX Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of IDEXX Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of IDEXX Laboratories from $435.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, IDEXX Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $533.75.

IDEXX Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of IDXX stock opened at $419.52 on Wednesday. IDEXX Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $398.50 and a fifty-two week high of $548.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $437.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $445.87.

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.