Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Trading Down 4.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Bio-Rad Laboratories' shares fell 4.1% to $272.86, experiencing a significant decline in trading volume, down 87% from the average.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings, with one firm upgrading the stock to a "buy" and several others adjusting their price targets between $265.00 and $409.00.
• Bio-Rad reported earnings of $2.61 per share, exceeding estimates, and revenue of $651.60 million, marking a 2.1% increase from last year.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) was down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $272.86 and last traded at $272.86. Approximately 43,233 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 336,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $284.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $355.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $387.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Rad Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $333.50.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a current ratio of 5.12, a quick ratio of 3.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average is $244.53 and its 200 day moving average is $258.93.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The medical research company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.68. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a return on equity of 4.01% and a net margin of 12.50%. The company had revenue of $651.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.11 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BIO. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 60.7% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,517,313 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $607,478,000 after acquiring an additional 951,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 705.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 427,292 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $140,370,000 after purchasing an additional 374,269 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 136.0% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 372,555 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $90,739,000 after buying an additional 214,705 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 560,524 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $184,138,000 after buying an additional 181,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 22,131.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 147,841 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $36,008,000 after acquiring an additional 147,176 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.