Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $61.87 and traded as high as $62.46. Bruker shares last traded at $61.25, with a volume of 867,430 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRKR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.45.

Bruker Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.85. The company has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. Bruker’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Bruker by 11.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,272,000 after purchasing an additional 14,069 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Bruker in the second quarter valued at about $36,472,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Bruker by 446.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 22,878 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 5.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 166,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,628,000 after acquiring an additional 8,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Bruker by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,223,000 after acquiring an additional 98,427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

About Bruker

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.