Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $394.20.

BIO has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $369.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% during the 2nd 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. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 140.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 77 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 6.2 %

BIO stock traded up $20.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $345.60. 228,402 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 243,130. The firm has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.91 and a beta of 0.90. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 1-year low of $262.12 and a 1-year 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $341.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.41.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.85. The business 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 firm's revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.