Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 325 Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 13.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,086 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 636,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $173,773,000 after buying an additional 634,311 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,824,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,609,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter worth approximately $15,340,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE BIO opened at $332.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of -32.06 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a current ratio of 6.28. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 52-week low of $261.59 and a 52-week high of $366.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $325.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.52.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.99. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 51.73% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The company had revenue of $638.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.00 EPS. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total value of $989,820.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,582.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (down from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $401.00 price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $358.20.

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.