Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Trading Down 5% - What's Next?

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $235.81 and last traded at $237.18. Approximately 50,982 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 312,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on BIO shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $481.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Up 0.6 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $249.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $306.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of -3.75 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 4.85 and a current ratio of 6.48.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.04. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 71.86%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,919,808 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $630,676,000 after buying an additional 12,168 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $342,686,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 746,119 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $245,106,000 after purchasing an additional 91,690 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 618,049 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $203,035,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $184,138,000 after acquiring an additional 181,829 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company's stock.

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.