Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $368.20.

Several brokerages have weighed in on BIO. StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $350.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $401.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total value of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,582.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BIO. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 140.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $38,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE BIO opened at $327.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of -31.63 and a beta of 0.95. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 1-year low of $261.59 and a 1-year high of $364.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $331.48 and a 200-day moving average of $307.58. The company has a current ratio of 6.28, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.99. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.77% and a negative net margin of 51.73%. The firm had revenue of $638.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 9.45 EPS for the current 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.