Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Short Interest Update

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,480,000 shares, a decline of 24.0% from the March 31st total of 8,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BRKR shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,505,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,526,469. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. Bruker has a 1-year low of $34.10 and a 1-year high of $79.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bruker will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Bruker's payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. London Co. of Virginia boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 4,193,454 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $245,820,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,294 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP boosted its holdings in Bruker by 484.1% in the fourth quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 1,714,015 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $100,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,569 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its stake in Bruker by 262.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $114,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,102 shares during the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Bruker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,997,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,378,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.