Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

BIO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $265.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Rad Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.50.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BIO opened at $323.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of -13.31 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 5.44, a quick ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 1-year low of $211.43 and a 1-year high of $373.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $312.09 and its 200-day moving average is $292.43.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The medical research company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.04). Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 4.19% and a negative net margin of 26.43%.The firm had revenue of $653.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.30 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 700 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total value of $214,326.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,151.80. The trade was a 57.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 17.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 52.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 104 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 207 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc is a global provider of life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The company operates through two primary business segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. Within the Life Science segment, Bio-Rad offers instruments, reagents and consumables for protein analysis, cell biology, gene expression and other molecular biology applications. The Clinical Diagnostics segment supplies quality control products, blood-typing reagents and instruments, and molecular diagnostic assays used in blood screening, infectious disease testing and routine clinical laboratories.

Founded in 1952 by David and Alice Schwartz and headquartered in Hercules, California, Bio-Rad has grown its footprint across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other regions.