Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at BTIG Research in a report issued on Friday, January 24th, The Fly reports. They currently have a $157.00 target price on the medical equipment provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.21% from the stock’s previous close.
Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Varian Medical Systems from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Varian Medical Systems from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of Varian Medical Systems from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Varian Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Varian Medical Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Varian Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.00.
Shares of NYSE:VAR opened at $142.46 on Friday. Varian Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $103.92 and a 52-week high of $150.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $144.90 and a 200 day moving average of $126.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a PE ratio of 44.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.29.
Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.05). Varian Medical Systems had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 8.92%. The company had revenue of $828.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $829.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Varian Medical Systems will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.
In related news, SVP Christopher A. Toth sold 564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.95, for a total transaction of $78,367.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,830 shares in the company, valued at $254,278.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kolleen T. Kennedy sold 4,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.00, for a total transaction of $636,032.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,120. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,851 shares of company stock worth $3,329,804 in the last quarter. 0.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VAR. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,239,226 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $460,003,000 after purchasing an additional 556,316 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 170.5% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. now owns 768,075 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $109,074,000 after purchasing an additional 484,173 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 14,499.7% in the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 378,862 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $51,574,000 after purchasing an additional 376,267 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 4.0% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,316,444 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,132,117,000 after purchasing an additional 319,325 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Varian Medical Systems by 113.5% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 455,342 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $54,226,000 after purchasing an additional 242,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.16% of the company’s stock.
About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as related quality assurance equipment.
Featured Article: Google Finance Portfolio
Receive News & Ratings for Varian Medical Systems Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Varian Medical Systems and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.
