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Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (LNTH) Soars to 52-Week High, Time to Cash Out?

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Have you been paying attention to shares of Lantheus Holdings ? Shares have been on the move with the stock up 14.3% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $86.85 in the previous session. Lantheus Holdings has gained 199.8% since the start of the year compared to the -16.3% move for the Zacks Medical sector and the -41.8% return for the Zacks Medical - Products industry.

What's Driving the Outperformance?

The stock has a great record of positive earnings surprises, as it hasn't missed our earnings consensus estimate in any of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on August 4, 2022, Lantheus Holdings reported EPS of $0.89 versus consensus estimate of $0.7 while it beat the consensus revenue estimate by 9.68%.

For the current fiscal year, Lantheus Holdings is expected to post earnings of $3.57 per share on $900.67 million in revenues. This represents a 628.57% change in EPS on a 111.82% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $4.03 per share on $995.56 million in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 13.03% and 10.53%, respectively.

Valuation Metrics

Lantheus Holdings may be at a 52-week high right now, but what might the future hold for the stock? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company is due for a pullback from this level.

On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as they provide investors with an additional way to sort through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). These styles are represented by grades running from A to F in the categories of Value, Growth, and Momentum, while there is a combined VGM Score as well. The idea behind the style scores is to help investors pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style.

Lantheus Holdings has a Value Score of F. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are A and C, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of B.

In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 24.3X current fiscal year EPS estimates, which is a premium to the peer industry average of 21.7X. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 67.6X versus its peer group's average of 13.4X. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective.

Zacks Rank

We also need to look at the Zacks Rank for the stock, as this supersedes any trend on the style score front. Fortunately, Lantheus Holdings currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) thanks to favorable earnings estimate revisions from covering analysts.

Since we recommend that investors select stocks carrying Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B, it looks as if Lantheus Holdings meets the list of requirements. Thus, it seems as though Lantheus Holdings shares could still be poised for more gains ahead.

How Does LNTH Stack Up to the Competition?

Shares of LNTH have been soaring, and the company still appears to be a decent choice, but what about the rest of the industry? One industry peer that looks good is Haemonetics Corporation (HAE - Free Report) . HAE has a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and a Value Score of B, a Growth Score of A, and a Momentum Score of D.

Earnings were strong last quarter. Haemonetics Corporation beat our consensus estimate by 9.43%, and for the current fiscal year, HAE is expected to post earnings of $2.77 per share on revenue of $1.08 billion.

Shares of Haemonetics Corporation have gained 11.1% over the past month, and currently trade at a forward P/E of 27.9X and a P/CF of 16.9X.

The Medical - Products industry may rank in the bottom 61% of all the industries we have in our universe, but there still looks like there are some nice tailwinds for LNTH and HAE, even beyond their own solid fundamental situation.


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