WFA of San Diego LLC Trims Holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

WFA of San Diego LLC lowered its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,020 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BIO. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,824,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 95.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,836,000 after purchasing an additional 21,669 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 217,885 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $72,900,000 after purchasing an additional 84,237 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 320.6% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BIO shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Rad Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.80.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 0.3 %

BIO stock opened at $338.68 on Thursday. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.12 and a 52 week high of $387.99. The company has a quick ratio of 4.52, a current ratio of 6.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $317.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $649.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.18 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.74% and a negative net margin of 30.18%. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total value of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. This represents a 28.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories 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 directly owns 147 shares in the company, valued at $48,582.03. This trade represents a 80.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

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.