Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $241.95, but opened at $270.93. Bio-Rad Laboratories shares last traded at $283.85, with a volume of 86,463 shares trading hands.

The medical research company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.68. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a return on equity of 4.04% and a net margin of 12.50%. The firm had revenue of $651.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $355.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $387.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BIO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 17.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 877,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $213,608,000 after buying an additional 130,921 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 724,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $176,498,000 after acquiring an additional 164,136 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 618,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $203,035,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 705.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 427,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $140,370,000 after acquiring an additional 374,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP grew its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 3.9% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 386,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $93,379,000 after purchasing an additional 14,394 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 5.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $241.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.97.

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.