Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Short Interest Update

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,610,000 shares, a drop of 31.7% from the January 31st total of 6,750,000 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 109.9% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,110 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $905,000 after acquiring an additional 6,863 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Bruker by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 38,447 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,655,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bruker in the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 16.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 56,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 7,881 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bruker Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,844,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,908. The stock has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.16. Bruker has a 52 week low of $45.29 and a 52 week high of $94.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $55.83 and its 200-day moving average is $59.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that Bruker will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRKR has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued 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 $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.