Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Stock Price

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $446.00 to $469.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 31.05% from the company’s previous close.

BIO has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $381.80.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Up 8.3 %

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock traded up $27.29 on Thursday, reaching $357.87. 264,398 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,176. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 52 week low of $262.12 and a 52 week high of $364.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $331.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $307.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a current ratio of 6.28. The company has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.54 and a beta of 0.95.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.73. 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 $649.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In related news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total value of $205,895.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total value of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $731,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,724 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 836 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2,052.5% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 104,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,226,000 after purchasing an additional 99,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,230 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.