Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) shares are marching higher today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) health imaging company closed Friday trading for $313.50. At the time of writing in afternoon trade on Monday, shares are changing hands for $319.77 apiece, up 2.0%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.1% at this same time.
How has the ASX 200 healthcare stock been tracking?
Today's outperformance is par for the course for Pro Medicus shares, which have surged 113.2% since this time last year, blowing away the 12.1% one-year gains posted by the ASX 200.
Atop those capital gains, the stock also trades on a slender, fully franked 0.2% dividend yield (partly trailing, partly pending).
The final dividend of 30 cents per share, declared when the company reported its FY 2025 results last Thursday, is still up for grabs. If you want to bank that passive income, you'll need to own shares at market close on 2 September. Pro Medicus shares trade ex-dividend on 3 September.
Speaking of those results, the ASX 200 healthcare stock closed up 6.4% on Thursday as investors responded positively to the growth metrics.
Highlights from the year included a 31.9% boost in revenue from ordinary activities to $213.0 million. And net profit was up 39.2% year on year to $115.2 million.
Which brings us back to our headline question.
With the stock up 113% in a year, and leaping higher again following last week's FY 2025 results release, what does the team at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) recommend for Pro Medicus shares?
Pro Medicus shares: Buy, hold, or sell?
Following the results, the analysts at Macquarie noted:
Despite FY25 revenue -2% below expectations, EBIT margin of 74% was +110bps ahead. This was largely driven by lower employee expenses (-5% vs MRE), which represents ~75% of total costs, demonstrating significant operating leverage.
And the broker believes Pro Medicus shares could catch further tailwinds in FY 2026 from ongoing margin expansion.
According to Macquarie:
Mgmt note potential for further margin expansion with recent contract wins (Trinity, UCHealth) and relatively fixed cost base. We increase our FY26E EBIT margin to ~77% (from ~73%), capturing +18% growth in employee costs YoY.
Macquarie is also optimistic about the growth potential in the company's North American radiology market.
Longer term, the broker said, "Our forecasts capture market share [in North American radiology markets] of ~15% by FY30 and ~30% by FY35."
"While we see potential for increased penetration of the US addressable market, following the share price movement, we see the stock as fairly valued," Macquarie concluded. "We are yet to capture digital pathology within our forecasts."
The broker has a neutral rating on the stock. But following the strong FY 2025 results, the broker increased its 12-month price target for Pro Medicus shares by 24% to $321.60.
