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

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $468.00.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $400.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $484.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.00, for a total transaction of $1,008,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,942 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,512. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 17.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $116,036,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,142,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $79,143,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $61,866,000. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $62,351,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BIO opened at $275.94 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $324.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.24. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a twelve month low of $261.59 and a twelve month high of $473.50. The company has a current ratio of 5.83, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.84 and a beta of 0.87.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $681.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.41 earnings per share 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.