Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $367.21 and last traded at $365.6340, with a volume of 18684 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $352.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BIO. Zacks Research upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $343.33.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 3.5%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $310.96 and its 200 day moving average is $291.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 44.27 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.87. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 3.54%. The company had revenue of $651.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2,271.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 397,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $111,363,000 after purchasing an additional 380,422 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $75,037,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 6,586.3% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 147,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,209,000 after purchasing an additional 145,623 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,600,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,488,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc is a global provider of life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The company operates through two primary business segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. Within the Life Science segment, Bio-Rad offers instruments, reagents and consumables for protein analysis, cell biology, gene expression and other molecular biology applications. The Clinical Diagnostics segment supplies quality control products, blood-typing reagents and instruments, and molecular diagnostic assays used in blood screening, infectious disease testing and routine clinical laboratories.

Founded in 1952 by David and Alice Schwartz and headquartered in Hercules, California, Bio-Rad has grown its footprint across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other regions.