Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 644,530 Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,303,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 644,530 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $436,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 140.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $51,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Bio-Rad Laboratories stock opened at $368.42 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $333.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.47. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a one year low of $262.12 and a one year high of $372.27. The company has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of -13.48 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 6.28 and a quick ratio of 4.63.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.85. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.66% and a negative net margin of 30.18%. The company had revenue of $649.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $628.18 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Rad Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.80.

Insider Activity at Bio-Rad Laboratories

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

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.