Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Here’s What Happened

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) fell 2.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $332.50 and last traded at $332.51. 24,634 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 250,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $342.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 3.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 6.28 and a quick ratio of 4.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $306.82. The firm has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.03 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Insider Activity at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $48,582.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total value of $989,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. The trade was 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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total value of $205,895.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,582.03. This 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.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 636,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $173,773,000 after acquiring an additional 634,311 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,824,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $15,340,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 16.8% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 41,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,457,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $567,000. Hedge funds and other 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.