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

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 851,300 shares, a decline of 36.9% from the September 15th total of 1,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 309,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 4.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares in the company, valued at $48,582.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was 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 directly owns 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,582.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,559 shares in the company, valued at $2,494,016.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 634,311 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $1,824,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth $15,340,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $14,457,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $567,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on BIO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $401.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BIO traded up $3.52 on Friday, reaching $336.92. 157,405 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 252,456. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 6.28 and a quick ratio of 4.63. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $261.59 and a fifty-two week high of $364.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a PE ratio of -32.52 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50 day moving average is $328.84 and its 200-day moving average is $307.18.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.99. The company had revenue of $638.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.79 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 51.73% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 9.45 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.