Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BIO. Citigroup lowered Bio-Rad Laboratories from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $484.00 to $480.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $468.00.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BIO opened at $275.94 on Thursday. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 52-week low of $261.59 and a 52-week high of $473.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.84 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $324.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $316.96. 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 (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,512. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 121 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.