Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Short Interest Update

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 551,600 shares, a growth of 12.9% from the November 30th total of 488,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 196,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

BIO stock traded up $2.17 on Wednesday, hitting $328.51. The company had a trading volume of 103,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,992. The company has a current ratio of 6.14, a quick ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 12-month low of $262.12 and a 12-month high of $387.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.02 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $339.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.09.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $649.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.18 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.74% and a negative net margin of 30.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 32,296.9% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 636,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,773,000 after buying an additional 634,311 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 95.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,836,000 after acquiring an additional 21,669 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 217,885 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $72,900,000 after acquiring an additional 84,237 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 341.7% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 5,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $369.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Rad Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

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.