Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 655,500 shares, a growth of 18.8% from the December 15th total of 551,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 183,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:BIO traded down $1.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $342.95. 124,273 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 140,854. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.55 and a beta of 0.90. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a twelve month low of $262.12 and a twelve month high of $387.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.52 and a current ratio of 6.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $336.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.68.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $649.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.18 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.74% and a negative net margin of 30.18%. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $481.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 140.6% in 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 last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 281.7% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 271 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.