What Happened?
Shares of blood products company Haemonetics (NYSE: HAE). fell 4.3% in the afternoon session after Needham downgraded the stock from 'Buy' to 'Hold', citing concerns about growing competition.
The research firm pointed to increased competitive pressure in the vascular closure device market. Specifically, rivals Abbott and a private company named Cordis developed new devices and dedicated sales teams.
Due to these threats, Needham projected that Haemonetics' Interventional Technologies segment would see a continued decline through fiscal year 2027. In addition to lowering the rating, the firm also removed its price target on the shares, signaling decreased confidence in the stock's near-term performance.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Haemonetics? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Haemonetics’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 8 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 4 days ago when the stock dropped 2.1% on the news that Citigroup downgraded the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy."
The action came from analyst Joanne Wuensch. Despite the downgrade, Citigroup raised its price target on Haemonetics shares to $88 from $77. The stock's decline suggested that investors focused more on the negative rating change than the higher price target. A downgrade often signals an analyst's belief that a stock's potential for future gains has become more limited.
Haemonetics is up 1.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $79.86 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $87.16 from December 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Haemonetics’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $669.97.
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