Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Short Interest Up 77.1% in December

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,200,000 shares, a growth of 77.1% from the December 15th total of 3,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BRKR. Bank of America upped their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim began coverage on Bruker in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bruker presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.45.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of BRKR traded down $2.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.12. 1,111,707 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,307,878. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.17. Bruker has a fifty-two week low of $48.07 and a fifty-two week high of $94.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $57.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.75.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. Bruker’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Bruker will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Bruker’s payout ratio is 9.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BRKR. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 4,636.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 521 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 2,324.1% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Bruker by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 661 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Bruker in the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 81.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bruker Company Profile

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.