Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $358.50.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BIO shares. Zacks Research upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $265.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Monday.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total value of $214,326.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,151.80. This represents a 57.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 60.7% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,517,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $607,478,000 after purchasing an additional 951,123 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $117,303,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2,271.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 397,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $111,363,000 after buying an additional 380,422 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 724,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $176,498,000 after buying an additional 164,136 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 877,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $213,608,000 after buying an additional 130,921 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

BIO stock opened at $317.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $313.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.79. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 12 month low of $211.43 and a 12 month high of $373.69. The company has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.07 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 3.94, a current ratio of 5.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The medical research company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $653.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.30 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 26.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company develops, manufactures, and markets instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables to separate, purify, characterize, and quantitate biological materials such as cells, proteins, and nucleic acids for proteomics, genomics, biopharmaceutical production, cellular biology, and food safety markets.