Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on BIO. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $400.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a hold rating and set a $315.00 price target (down previously from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $436.67.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of BIO stock traded down $11.26 on Thursday, reaching $329.99. 162,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 226,788. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $292.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.60. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 1-year low of $261.59 and a 1-year high of $419.00. The company has a quick ratio of 4.89, a current ratio of 6.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.94 and a beta of 0.93.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.99. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.59% and a negative net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $638.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.91, for a total transaction of $104,024.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,994.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 17.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 121 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

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.