Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Stock

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Bruker from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Bruker from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.70.

Bruker Price Performance

BRKR stock traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.73. 1,529,330 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,114,317. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $58.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker has a fifty-two week low of $48.07 and a fifty-two week high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $866.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Bruker's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BRKR. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 11.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $9,272,000 after purchasing an additional 14,069 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,089 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 4,447 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Bruker by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,553 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Bruker by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,993,468 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $137,702,000 after buying an additional 193,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 36.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,685 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,847,000 after acquiring an additional 14,888 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Company Profile

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.