Short Interest in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Increases By 11.7%

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,050,000 shares, a growth of 11.7% from the August 15th total of 940,000 shares. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 259,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

BIO stock traded up $4.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $330.33. 199,269 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 226,128. The company has a 50-day moving average of $318.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.34. The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.49 and a beta of 0.95. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a twelve month low of $261.59 and a twelve month high of $377.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 6.28 and a quick ratio of 4.63.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $638.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $645.79 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 51.73% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $401.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (down from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $358.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,582.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,582.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 151,691 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,980,000 after acquiring an additional 41,937 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $1,824,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $2,609,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $15,340,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $7,271,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

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.