Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Trading Down 2.8% – Should You Sell?

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) shares were down 2.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $332.50 and last traded at $332.51. Approximately 24,634 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 250,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $342.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $329.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $307.24. The stock has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.20 and a beta of 0.95. 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 (NYSE:BIO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.99. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.77% and a negative net margin of 51.73%. The business had revenue of $638.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,582.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIO. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 22.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 0.5% in the third quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 71,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,934,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,944 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,632 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.