Short Interest in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Declines By 20.8%

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 651,700 shares, a decrease of 20.8% from the October 15th total of 823,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 291,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company's shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BIO shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $340.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $391.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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 owns 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,582.03. This trade represents a 80.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total value of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares in the company, valued at $2,494,016.46. The trade was a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BIO. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $180,040,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 636,275 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $173,773,000 after purchasing an additional 634,311 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $83,681,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 64.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 494,604 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $135,081,000 after purchasing an additional 193,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 26.2% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 649,522 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $177,391,000 after buying an additional 134,856 shares in the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

Bio-Rad Laboratories stock traded down $29.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $320.31. The company had a trading volume of 286,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,199. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.72 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 6.14, a quick ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $340.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.07. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 52 week low of $262.12 and a 52 week high of $387.99.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $649.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $628.18 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.74% and a negative net margin of 30.18%. The business'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 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 9.93 earnings per share 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.