Short Interest in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Increases By 11.7%

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,050,000 shares, an increase of 11.7% from the August 15th total of 940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 259,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 5.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of BIO stock traded up $4.11 on Monday, hitting $330.33. The stock had a trading volume of 199,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,128. The business has a 50 day moving average of $318.79 and a 200 day moving average of $307.34. The stock has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.49 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 has a 12-month low of $261.59 and a 12-month high of $377.88.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.99. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 51.73% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The business had revenue of $638.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,582.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $401.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (down previously from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $358.20.

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.