Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Shares of Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $40.55, but opened at $36.46. Bruker shares last traded at $35.41, with a volume of 1,090,421 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRKR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup cut shares of Bruker from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bruker has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.89.

Bruker Stock Up 1.3%

The firm has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 77.78, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $39.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.55.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $801.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.83 million. Bruker had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Bruker's payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 2,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.36 per share, for a total transaction of $100,042.88. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 38,462,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,475,408,879.56. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 27.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRKR. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bruker in the 4th quarter worth about $661,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,972 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,971 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 62,006 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,635,000 after acquiring an additional 11,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Bruker in the 4th quarter worth about $1,260,000. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bruker

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.