Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Short Interest Update

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,280,000 shares, an increase of 47.6% from the June 15th total of 867,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 249,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 6.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 369 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.91, for a total value of $104,024.79. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,994.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 17.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BIO. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the third quarter worth $11,054,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $380,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $563,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 104.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,605 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,070,000 after buying an additional 6,429 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BIO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $400.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $420.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com lowered Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.67.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of BIO traded down $2.04 on Monday, reaching $302.11. The stock had a trading volume of 231,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 225,734. The company has a current ratio of 6.57, a quick ratio of 4.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 12-month low of $261.59 and a 12-month high of $431.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.85.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.25. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.59% and a negative net margin of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $610.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $619.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal 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.