Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Receives $368.20 Average PT from Analysts

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $368.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BIO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $350.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $401.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of BIO stock opened at $340.10 on Friday. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 52 week low of $261.59 and a 52 week high of $364.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of -32.83 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a current ratio of 6.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $330.87 and its 200-day moving average is $307.14.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $638.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.79 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 51.73% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares in the company, valued at $2,494,016.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total value of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total value of $205,895.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,582.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BIO. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $180,040,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 636,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,773,000 after buying an additional 634,311 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 494,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $135,081,000 after acquiring an additional 193,700 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 649,522 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $177,391,000 after acquiring an additional 134,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 514,906 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $178,091,000 after acquiring an additional 121,272 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.