Short Interest in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Rises By 15.3%

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 867,500 shares, a growth of 15.3% from the May 31st total of 752,200 shares. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 241,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BIO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Citigroup lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price (down from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $420.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.91, for a total transaction of $104,024.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,994.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 17.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 65.8% during the fourth quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 121 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $51,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 0.4 %

BIO stock opened at $273.11 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $284.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a PE ratio of -26.36 and a beta of 0.95. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 12 month low of $261.59 and a 12 month high of $431.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 6.57 and a quick ratio of 4.89.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $610.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $619.09 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 12.37% and a positive return on equity of 3.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

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.