LH Stock vs the S&P 500: Returns, Risk and Crash History

Named analysts’ rating and price‑target changes on LH in the 5 weeks to Oct 12, 2026, shown 30 days after publication (the free analysts’ calls 3 days after). The top‑ranked analysts’ calls are in Exent Gems. See all of the latest analyst upgrades and downgrades.

Of the 298 analyst price targets on LH set from 2019 until a year ago, 48.3% were reached within 12 months (data to Oct 20, 2026), 20.3 points below the 68.6% hit rate of the median stock in Exent’s study of 794 stocks. Targets that were reached took a median of 233 days. The median target sat 26.1% above the share price on the day it was set.

Where analysts said LH would be by now: a year ago, 7 analysts had a price target on LH, and the median of their latest targets was $304.00. On Oct 20, 2026 LH closed at $323.02, 6.3% above it.

The move on the call runs from the close before the rating change to the close after it; the last column is the stock’s return minus the S&P 500’s over the next three months. Averages of rating changes on LH through Sep 15, 2026; analysts are not named here. Do analyst upgrades move stocks?

LH beat the consensus earnings‑per‑share estimate in 12 of its last 12 quarterly reports, through the one on Jul 30, 2026, and the revenue estimate in 10 of 12. From the close before each report to the close after it, the stock moved 4.0% on average, up or down, against 6.8% for the average report across the 1,002 US stocks Exent tracks. It rose after 6 of the 12 reports. In 6 of the 12 beats the stock still fell.

Reported earnings per share against the consensus estimate, revenue surprise in percent, and the stock’s price change over the two sessions around the report. How stocks move after earnings

In fiscal 2021 (the year to Dec 31, 2021), LH’s largest reported region was North America, with 81.2% of its $16.1 billion revenue. By region: North America 81.2%; Europe 12.7%; Other countries 6.1%.

By business, the largest segment was LabCorp Diagnostics, with 100.0% of $10.9 billion revenue (+7.2% on the year before).

From LH’s annual filings; segment growth compares fiscal 2025 with the year before. Regions are as each company reports them, so one company’s “Asia Pacific” is not another’s. China counts the regions a company reports as China, Greater China or Hong Kong; a separately reported Taiwan is not counted. Which S&P 500 companies depend most on China?

As of Oct 20, 2026, 12 members of Congress had disclosed 58 trades in LH (32 buys and 26 sales) in STOCK Act disclosures filed with the House and Senate. The latest public trade is dated Aug 25, 2026.

Amounts are the ranges members report, not exact values. The STOCK Act gives members up to 45 days to disclose a trade, so trades appear weeks after they are made. See every member’s disclosed trades

One trade in LH disclosed in the last 30 days is in Exent Radar.

In the 12 months to Oct 20, 2026, LH insiders made no open‑market purchases and 21 sales worth $13.7 million, according to SEC Form 4 filings. The last open‑market purchase on record was on Jun 7, 2022.

After the 4 insider purchases of $10,000 or more since 2012, LH lagged the S&P 500 by an average of 2.1 percentage points over the next 12 months; 50% of them were followed by a beat (a small sample). Across all 17,865 insider purchases in Exent’s study, the average was +17.2% and the median +1.0% against the index.

The table lists the latest open‑market purchases on record, leaving out the last 30 days. The chart counts Form 4 purchases and sales by calendar quarter. Purchases are open‑market buys; sales include planned sales under 10b5‑1 trading plans. Do insider buys beat the market?

As of the Sep 30, 2026 settlement date, 3.32% of LH’s float was sold short: 2.7 million shares, or 3.0 days of average trading volume to cover. A year earlier (Oct 15, 2025) it was 3.02%. The median across the 997 US stocks Exent tracks was 4.77%, so LH is less heavily shorted than most.

From FINRA short‑interest reports, filed twice a month; the bars show the short share of the float at each month‑end. Days to cover divides the shares short by the average daily volume. The most shorted stocks

At the end of Q2 2026 (Jun 30, 2026), 1,071 institutions reported holding LH in 13F filings, up 32 from the quarter before and up from 982 a year earlier. Their reported holdings add up to 97.2% of LH’s shares. In the quarter 467 institutions added to their positions and 394 cut them.

Investment managers with over $100 million in US equities file 13F reports within 45 days of each quarter end, so this is the latest complete quarter. Holdings can add up to more than 100% when shares are lent and counted twice. Which stocks institutions are buying and selling

LH’s diluted share count fell 14.5% over the five fiscal years to fiscal 2025 and fell 0.7% in fiscal 2025 alone. Each share now owns a larger slice of the company. The median change across the 1,005 US stocks Exent tracks was −0.1%.

Stock‑based compensation was $125.8 million in fiscal 2025, 0.9% of revenue. LH spent $450.0 million buying back shares, a buyback yield of 1.64% of its market value; stock pay equaled 28.0% of the buybacks.

Weighted‑average diluted shares from LH’s annual income statements; stock‑based compensation and buybacks from its cash‑flow statement. Stock dilution and stock‑based compensation, explained

In Exent’s Oct 20, 2026 snapshot, LH’s Altman Z‑score was 3.38, in the safe zone (where 465 of the 794 non‑financial US stocks Exent tracks sit). Its Piotroski F‑score was 8 out of 9; 20% of scored stocks reach 8 or more.

The Altman Z‑score combines five balance‑sheet and earnings ratios into one bankruptcy‑risk score: below 1.81 is the distress zone, 1.81–2.99 grey, above 2.99 safe. It is not meaningful for banks, insurers and REITs. The Piotroski F‑score counts nine yes/no tests of profitability, leverage and efficiency; 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak. Both come from the latest annual statements. Which stocks have the highest bankruptcy risk?

On its latest earnings call (Jul 30, 2026), LH’s executives and analysts mentioned AI 3 times, against 10 on the call before (Apr 30, 2026); the average across 455 S&P 500 calls that quarter was 12.9. Tariffs and recession did not come up.

Word counts in the full transcript of each call, prepared remarks and Q&A, newest first. “AI” also counts generative AI and large language models; “AI agents” counts agentic AI. Which companies talk most about AI?

As of Oct 20, 2026, 48 of the 304 ETFs Exent tracks held LH. Its largest weight is in FXH (First Trust Health Care AlphaDEX Fund), at 1.36% of the fund.

Owning several of these funds stacks the same position. How much do VOO, QQQ and VTI overlap?

Adam H. Schechter, LH’s President and Chief Executive Officer, received total pay of $18.3 million for fiscal 2025, down 5.1% from $19.3 million for fiscal 2024, according to the company’s proxy statement filed with the SEC on Apr 10, 2026. 77% of it came as stock and option awards, valued when they were granted rather than when they pay out. The median CEO pay across the 378 S&P 500 companies Exent tracks was $17.2 million.

Figures from the summary compensation table of the proxy statement; awards count at their grant‑date value, so one large multi‑year grant can make a single year stand out. CEO pay across the S&P 500