Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (NYSE:DPLO) Cut to “Sell” at Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (NYSE:DPLO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

According to Zacks, “Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. operates as an independent specialty pharmacy in the United States. It aids in the dispensing, delivery, dosing and reimbursement of clinically intensive and specialty drugs. The company focuses on medication management programs for people with complex chronic diseases, including oncology, immunology, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, HIV, specialized infusion therapy and many other serious or long-term conditions. Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. is headquartered in Flint, Michigan. “

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays PLC set a $20.00 price objective on Diplomat Pharmacy and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. Bank of America Corporation raised their price objective on Diplomat Pharmacy from $17.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Diplomat Pharmacy from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. Leerink Swann restated a market perform rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $16.00) on shares of Diplomat Pharmacy in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Finally, Cowen and Company raised their price objective on Diplomat Pharmacy from $12.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $21.07.

Shares of Diplomat Pharmacy (NYSE DPLO) opened at 15.23 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.68 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $16.69 and its 200 day moving average is $15.50. Diplomat Pharmacy has a 52-week low of $12.25 and a 52-week high of $38.94.

Diplomat Pharmacy (NYSE:DPLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 8th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. Diplomat Pharmacy had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 0.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Diplomat Pharmacy will post $0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Diplomat Pharmacy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Diplomat Pharmacy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,547,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diplomat Pharmacy by 32.5% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 2,820 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Diplomat Pharmacy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 303,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,827,000 after buying an additional 11,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Diplomat Pharmacy during the fourth quarter valued at $2,730,000. Institutional investors own 72.55% of the company’s stock.

About Diplomat Pharmacy

Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc (Diplomat) operates a specialty pharmacy business, which stocks, dispenses and distributes prescriptions for various biotechnology and specialty pharmaceutical manufacturers. The Company operates through specialty pharmacy services segment. The Company’s primary focus is on medication management programs for individuals with chronic diseases, including oncology, immunology, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, specialty infusion therapy, and various other serious and/or long-term conditions.

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