Hologic Jumps On Goldman Sachs News; Icahn And Other Fund Managers Are Also Bullish

December 17, 2014

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Goldman Sachs added Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) to its Conviction Buy list on Thursday, raising its price target from $30.00 to $33.00. The stock reacted positively to the news and rose more than 2 percent on Thursday.

Jefferies, too, appears to like this $7.4 billion market cap medical devices company. In early-November, the research firm reiterated its Buy rating for the stock, and elevated its price target from $30.00 to $31.00.

Hedge Funds

Several institutional investors are also bullish on Hologic.

In November 2013, famed investor Carl Icahn reported a 13 percent stake in the company, stating that the stock was undervalued, while revealing his intentions to start talks with the company’s executives to enhance shareholder value.

Facing the option of a hostile takeover, the company adopted a "poison pill," or shareholder rights plan, to hedge other shareholders from Icahn’s activism.

Icahn’s position, which comprises more than 34.1 million shares, has remained unchanged since it was first initiated. Since the purchase, the stock has returned approximately 25 percent.

Over the third quarter of 2014, Renaissance Technologies, founded by Jim Simons, boosted its exposure to Hologic by 66 percent to 1.5 million shares, while Israel Englander’s Millennium Management added 7 percent to its holdings.

Also betting on the healthcare company is Soros Fund Management, which last disclosed ownership of more than $164 million in bonds after upping its ownership by 8 percent in the third quarter.