Brokerages Set Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Target Price at $391.80

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $391.80.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BIO shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Down 3.6 %

NYSE BIO traded down $12.97 on Thursday, reaching $350.23. 148,088 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 246,016. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 12 month low of $262.12 and a 12 month high of $387.99. The company has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.81 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $340.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $313.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.52 and a current ratio of 6.14.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.74% and a negative net margin of 30.18%. The firm had revenue of $649.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,582.03. The trade was a 80.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $173,773,000 after buying an additional 634,311 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,824,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 41,800 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $14,457,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 320.6% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,663 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 341.7% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 5,300 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company's stock.

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.