Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.36.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BRKR. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 20.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,766 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 139.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 361 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bruker by 120.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 399 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Bruker by 0.8% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 30,911 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $60.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Bruker has a fifty-two week low of $54.55 and a fifty-two week high of $94.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.47.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 11.29%. The company had revenue of $864.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bruker will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Bruker

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.