Pro Medicus shares jump as Bell Potter upgrades stock, co-founders sell shares
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Pro Medicus shares advanced on the ASX as Bell Potter hiked its price target on the medical imaging provider and news that its co-founders had sold one million shares after strong approaches from institutional investors.
Pro Medicus shares were up 3.2% to $265.02 by 1:30pm AEDT, after nearly tripling in value over the last 12 months. The wider ASX 200 was down 0.48%.
Bell Potter raised its price target on Pro Medicus from $130 to $260 and kept its 'hold' rating.
Bell Potter analyst John Hester flagged that the company has made three major contract announcements since June, helping its market capitalisation increase by 70% to $26 billion during the period.
Hester said that a chronic shortage of radiologists in the US has heightened clinics' demand for workforce productivity improvements, driving uptake of Pro Medicus' Visage platform.
What they said: "We have previously under appreciated the value accretion in contract upgrades," Hester said.
"Contract wins are likely to continue along with margin accretion in the short term."
Pro Medicus co-founders confirm joint share sale
The news: Pro Medicus co-founders Sam Hupert and Anthony Hall have each sold one million shares in the medical imaging provider, representing less than 4% of their respective shareholdings.
The numbers: The company said the sale was in response to strong approaches from a number of high-quality institutional investors and was conducted at Tuesday's closing market price of $256.73 per share.
Hupert and Hall remain the two largest shareholders in the company, both retaining in excess of 24 million shares each. Their combined holdings after the sale represent 46% of the company's shares on issue.
The context: The co-founders reaffirmed that they do not intend to sell any further shares in Pro Medicus "in the foreseeable future" and remain actively engaged in the company as executives and board members.
What they said: "...this sale of shares by the founders is part of a progressive sell down, which provides prospective shareholders with the opportunity to invest in the company and ultimately will increase the 'free float'," Pro Medicus chair Peter Kempen said.
The source: ASX announcement
