Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO – Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on BIO. TheStreet upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a d+ rating to a c rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $571.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $664.75.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of BIO opened at $469.87 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $471.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $437.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.87 and a beta of 0.93. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 1-year low of $344.63 and a 1-year high of $607.54. The company has a current ratio of 5.55, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The medical research company reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $730.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $741.01 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 4.59% and a negative net margin of 129.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.21 EPS. Analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy S. Ernst sold 1,746 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.43, for a total transaction of $849,306.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,299,254.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 27.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BIO. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 230.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 66 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 78 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 84 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 64.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

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Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc engages in the development and production of specialty chemicals used in biochemical, pharmaceutical, and other life science research applications. It operates through the Life Sciences and Clinical Diagnostics segments. The Life Science segment develops, manufactures, and markets reagents, apparatus, and laboratory instruments.