Short Interest in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Decreases By 20.8%

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 651,700 shares, a decrease of 20.8% from the October 15th total of 823,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 291,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

BIO stock traded down $22.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $328.00. 93,022 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 245,327. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 1 year low of $262.12 and a 1 year high of $387.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.52 and a current ratio of 6.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $340.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.77.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.85. The business 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%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $391.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. The trade was a 28.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,582.03. This represents a 80.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 140.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

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.