Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $358.50.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BIO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $265.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Monday.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of BIO opened at $304.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $314.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.86. 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 has a twelve month low of $211.43 and a twelve month high of $373.69. The company has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.54 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James Barry sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was 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 $156,151.80. This trade represents a 57.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 17.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BIO. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $607,478,000 after purchasing an additional 951,123 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,062,938 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $298,019,000 after acquiring an additional 63,370 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 818,624 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $197,550,000 after acquiring an additional 93,964 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 0.6% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 609,284 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,398 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 459,887 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $128,948,000 after purchasing an additional 7,754 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc is a global provider of life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The company operates through two primary business segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. Within the Life Science segment, Bio-Rad offers instruments, reagents and consumables for protein analysis, cell biology, gene expression and other molecular biology applications. The Clinical Diagnostics segment supplies quality control products, blood-typing reagents and instruments, and molecular diagnostic assays used in blood screening, infectious disease testing and routine clinical laboratories.

Founded in 1952 by David and Alice Schwartz and headquartered in Hercules, California, Bio-Rad has grown its footprint across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other regions.