The Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) share price surged higher today.
Today's gain puts the healthcare imaging provider's share price within reach of its previous all-time high.
Earlier today, Pro Medicus shares reached an intraday high of $57.57. The company's shares finished the day at $56.87, up 6.9%.
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What's pushing the Pro Medicus share price upwards?
There were no announcements from the company today. However, a couple of snippets of information might have influenced the share price.
Firstly, a broker note out of Morgans reveals its analysts have downgraded their 'hold' rating to 'reduce'. That may not sound positive for the company at first, but the broker did increase its price target from $41.30 to $49.69.
Morgans' mixed signals are the result of Pro Medicus' rapid share price appreciation in the last month. Given the lack of news, the broker thinks the upwards move might stem from short positions being covered ahead of the end of the financial year.
For this reason, Mogans sees current prices as unsustainable in the short term.
Another broker's take
Bell Potter released its latest research on the medical imaging company yesterday. According to the note, the broker retained a 'hold' rating with a 12-month Pro Medicus share price target of $49, previously $43.
Additionally, Bell Potter estimated the company's market share in radiology image viewing as somewhere between 3% to 5%. Hence, the future potential for further expansion remains vast in their opinion.
Topping the 200
The impressive share price performance extends beyond today, this week, or even month. As we covered in a separate story, Pro Medicus is one of the best performing shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far in 2021.
A wave of optimism has followed the company winning a few big contracts in the first six months of the year. Between these deals, Pro Medicus added $85 million in contracted revenue over the next 7 to 8 years.
