Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Trading 5.5% Higher - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Bruker Corporation's stock price increased by 5.5%, reaching $38.19, despite a drop in trading volume compared to the average session.
• Analysts have downgraded Bruker's price targets, with Barclays lowering their target from $43.00 to $40.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• The company recently reported a net margin of 2.31% and missed consensus EPS estimates, posting $0.32 for the quarter against an expectation of $0.33.

Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) traded up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.44 and last traded at $38.19. 1,155,731 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 2,814,857 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bruker from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Bruker from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $40.00 target price on shares of Bruker and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Bruker Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $33.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.06.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Bruker had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The business had revenue of $797.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.17 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Bruker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.950-2.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bruker news, Director Cynthia M. Friend sold 3,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $114,003.75. Following the sale, the director owned 18,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $581,016. This represents a 16.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 27.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bruker during the 3rd quarter valued at about $474,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Bruker by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 29,032 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 21,239 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 10,294 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Bruker by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,172 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.