Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 851,300 shares, a drop of 36.9% from the September 15th total of 1,350,000 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 309,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of BIO stock traded up $4.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $341.06. 151,904 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 251,949. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $328.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.88. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 12-month low of $261.59 and a 12-month high of $364.24. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.52 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 4.63, a current ratio of 6.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.99. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 51.73% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The company had revenue of $638.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BIO. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $401.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total value of $989,820.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total value of $205,895.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares in the company, valued at $48,582.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,421,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $837,467,000 after purchasing an additional 31,445 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $180,040,000. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 649,522 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $177,391,000 after purchasing an additional 134,856 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 636,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,773,000 after purchasing an additional 634,311 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 606,788 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $165,720,000 after purchasing an additional 91,882 shares during the period. 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.