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

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

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $265.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total transaction of $214,326.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,151.80. This trade represents a 57.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BIO. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 60.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,517,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $607,478,000 after buying an additional 951,123 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 13.0% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 818,624 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $197,550,000 after purchasing an additional 93,964 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,398 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in 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 valued at $128,948,000 after purchasing an additional 7,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of BIO stock opened at $295.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 5.44 and a quick ratio of 3.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $312.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $296.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.17 and a beta of 1.18. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 12 month low of $211.43 and a 12 month high of $373.69.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The medical research company reported $2.26 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $651.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

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.