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

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $420.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price (down previously from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.67.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock traded up $8.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $304.40. 301,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 225,692. The firm has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.38 and a beta of 0.93. 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 52-week low of $261.59 and a 52-week high of $431.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.04.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,573 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,994.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the third quarter worth $11,054,000. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 9.4% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $380,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $563,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,605 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after purchasing an additional 6,429 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.