DRW Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,757 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,592,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BIO. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 97.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,303,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $436,861,000 after purchasing an additional 644,530 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 26.2% during the second 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 increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% during the second 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. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 17.8% during the second 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. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 64.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 494,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $135,081,000 after purchasing an additional 193,700 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BIO opened at $336.09 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $340.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.30 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 6.14 and a quick ratio of 4.52. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.12 and a 1 year high of $387.99.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $649.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $628.18 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 30.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.74%. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,582.03. This represents a 80.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on BIO shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.80.

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.