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

StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $481.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

BIO opened at $284.05 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $335.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $334.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 6.48 and a quick ratio of 4.85. The firm has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of -4.37 and a beta of 0.90. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 1 year low of $262.12 and a 1 year high of $387.99.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.04. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 71.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIO. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 6.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,632 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,990,000 after buying an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $227,000. 65.24% of the stock is 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.