Analysts Set Shire PLC (SHPG) Target Price at $208.89

Shares of Shire PLC (NASDAQ:SHPG) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $208.89.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SHPG shares. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Shire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $222.00 price target on Shire and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 28th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Shire in a report on Wednesday, March 28th. BidaskClub upgraded Shire from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 30th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on Shire to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 19th.

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Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Shire by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 101,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,675,000 after purchasing an additional 13,567 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Shire in the first quarter worth $113,097,000. Sawtooth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Shire in the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Palo Alto Investors LLC boosted its position in Shire by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Palo Alto Investors LLC now owns 135,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,065,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new position in Shire in the fourth quarter worth $18,368,000. 17.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shire traded down $0.82, hitting $172.06, during trading on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. 489,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,362,866. Shire has a 52 week low of $123.73 and a 52 week high of $177.51. The company has a market capitalization of $52.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Shire (NASDAQ:SHPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.28. Shire had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 28.96%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. analysts predict that Shire will post 15.27 EPS for the current year.

Shire Company Profile

Shire plc, a biotechnology company, researches, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells medicines for rare diseases and other specialized conditions worldwide. The company offers products in therapeutic areas, including hematology, genetic diseases, neuroscience, immunology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, and oncology.

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