What happened
Catalent (CTLT 0.21%) is one company that probably wishes the summer would never end. As August came to a close, the contract drug manufacturer's stock enjoyed a nearly 12% rise over the course of the month's final week. That's according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
Catalent's happy week kicked off on Tuesday, when the company unveiled its preliminary fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results. These showed that both revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) net profit saw year-over-year declines.
Yet expectations for Catalent, which has struggled with a series of production difficulties at three of its factories, were quite low.
No one was surprised by the falls in headline numbers; in fact, more than a few investors and analysts tracking the stock were expecting worse. For the quarter the healthcare company topped the average prognosticator estimate for revenue, and only slightly missed on the bottom line. Revenue guidance also beat the average pundit forecast.
Now what
In the wake of that earnings report, several of those analysts upped their price targets on Catalent stock.
The most drastic of these hikes came from Barclays' Luke Sergott, who now feels the shares are worth $55 apiece; previously his level was $42. He didn't change his recommendation on the stock, though; it continues to be equal-weight (in other words, "hold"). Ditto for Wells Fargo, which raised its target to $50 per share from $43 and maintained its equivalent of a hold on the stock.
The more bullish Sean Dodge of RBC Capital reset his price target to $58 per share; it was formerly $51. He kept his buy recommendation intact.
