When Should You Buy Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)?

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Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) saw a significant share price rise of over 20% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. As a large-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Laboratory of America Holdings’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for Laboratory of America Holdings

What is Laboratory of America Holdings worth?

According to my valuation model, Laboratory of America Holdings seems to be fairly priced at around 14% below my intrinsic value, which means if you buy Laboratory of America Holdings today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe that the stock is really worth $173.4, then there isn’t much room for the share price grow beyond what it’s currently trading. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Laboratory of America Holdings’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

Can we expect growth from Laboratory of America Holdings?

NYSE:LH Past and Future Earnings, February 22nd 2019
NYSE:LH Past and Future Earnings, February 22nd 2019

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Laboratory of America Holdings’s earnings growth are expected to be in the teens in the upcoming years, indicating a solid future ahead. This should lead to robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in LH’s positive outlook, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuates below the true value?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on LH, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for the company, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Laboratory of America Holdings. You can find everything you need to know about Laboratory of America Holdings in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Laboratory of America Holdings, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.

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