Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Short Interest Up 39.8% in March

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,980,000 shares, a growth of 39.8% from the February 28th total of 5,710,000 shares. Approximately 7.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Bruker Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $42.08 on Friday. Bruker has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $94.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $50.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.37, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. On average, research analysts forecast that Bruker will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRKR. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 4,636.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 521 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 2,324.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Bruker by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Bruker by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRKR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.50.

Bruker Company Profile

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.