Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Upgraded to “Buy” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. Citigroup currently has $400.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $350.00.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $315.00 target price (down from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $401.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Rad Laboratories currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $368.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

Bio-Rad Laboratories stock opened at $337.89 on Tuesday. 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 has a 1-year low of $261.59 and a 1-year high of $366.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.61 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $327.11 and its 200 day moving average is $307.07.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,582.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter worth $38,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter worth $51,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the second quarter worth $51,000. 65.24% of the stock is 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.