Brokerages Set Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) PT at $468.00

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $468.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BIO. UBS Group lifted their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup lowered Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $400.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $484.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

BIO opened at $269.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 5.83. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 52-week low of $261.59 and a 52-week high of $473.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of -12.55 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $323.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $316.47.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.17. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $681.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.00, for a total value of $1,008,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,332,512. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIO. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 65.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $44,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.