Short Interest in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Rises By 77.1%

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,200,000 shares, an increase of 77.1% from the December 15th total of 3,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days. Currently, 6.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR traded down $3.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,942,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,518,071. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Bruker has a 1 year low of $48.07 and a 1 year high of $94.86. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.75.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $864.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Bruker will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Insider Activity at Bruker

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 100,000 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Bruker by 21.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $987,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521,904 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 127.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $88,666,000 after buying an additional 779,549 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Bruker in the second quarter worth about $36,472,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 4,875.9% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 470,171 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,470,000 after buying an additional 460,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Bruker by 1,933.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 410,234 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,331,000 after acquiring an additional 390,057 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BRKR. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Bruker from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Bruker in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Bruker in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.45.

About Bruker

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.