Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,610,000 shares, a decline of 31.7% from the January 31st total of 6,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.42. 1,844,984 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,233,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60. Bruker has a one year low of $45.29 and a one year high of $94.86. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.83 and a 200 day moving average of $59.49.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bruker will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Bruker by 21.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $987,981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521,904 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia increased its position in shares of Bruker by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 4,193,454 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $245,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,294 shares during the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 484.1% in the 4th quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 1,714,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $100,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,569 shares during the period. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 262.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $114,978,000 after buying an additional 1,420,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Bruker in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,997,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.50.

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.