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

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

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock traded up $2.70 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $348.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 63,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,423. The firm has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.76 and a beta of 0.90. 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 has a one year low of $262.12 and a one year high of $387.99. The business's fifty day moving average price is $340.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $336.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $481.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $394.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIO. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 712 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,680 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 106,871 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,108,000 after acquiring an additional 14,135 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,820,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,714 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.