Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $395.20.

A number of research firms recently commented on BIO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $481.00 price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BIO opened at $260.16 on Wednesday. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a twelve month low of $244.00 and a twelve month high of $387.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $308.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $326.91. The company has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of -4.00 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 4.85, a current ratio of 6.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.04. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 71.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BIO. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2,175.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 342.9% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 98 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 109 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

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.