Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a hold rating and set a $315.00 target price (down previously from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $420.00 to $385.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Bio-Rad Laboratories from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $395.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BIO opened at $335.93 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.43 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $293.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $307.69. The company has a quick ratio of 4.89, a current ratio of 6.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 12-month low of $261.59 and a 12-month high of $419.00.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 3.56% and a negative net margin of 51.73%. The firm had revenue of $638.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.91, for a total value of $104,024.79. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,994.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 65.8% in the fourth quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 121 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

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.