Bruker Corporation $BRKR Stock Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems nearly doubled its Bruker stake in the third quarter, adding 23,400 shares to own 47,600 shares valued at approximately $3.08 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.52% of BRKR.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.43, though JPMorgan downgraded the stock to “neutral.”
• Bruker’s latest quarterly results beat earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $0.49 versus a $0.38 estimate, while revenue rose 5.2% year over year to $838.5 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 96.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,600 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,400 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in Bruker were worth $3,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BRKR. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bruker in the 2nd quarter valued at about $570,746,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the second quarter worth approximately $169,899,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the second quarter worth approximately $53,145,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the second quarter worth approximately $44,839,000. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the second quarter worth approximately $40,146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BRKR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Bruker from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Bruker from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price objective on Bruker in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Bruker from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Bruker from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.43.

Bruker Stock Down 2.4%

BRKR stock opened at $55.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of -79.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.38. Bruker Corporation has a 52 week low of $32.37 and a 52 week high of $66.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.11. Bruker had a positive return on equity of 12.47% and a negative net margin of 2.35%. The firm had revenue of $838.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $853.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bruker Corporation will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Mark Munch sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.87, for a total transaction of $105,740.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 134,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,127,193.22. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 27.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bruker Profile

Bruker Corporation develops and manufactures scientific instruments, analytical systems and related software used to study materials, molecules and biological processes. Its technologies support research, discovery and quality control in fields including life sciences, pharmaceutical development, chemical analysis, materials science, environmental testing and clinical research.

The company's product portfolio includes nuclear magnetic resonance and electron paramagnetic resonance systems, mass spectrometers, infrared and Raman spectroscopy instruments, X-ray analysis equipment, microscopy and nanoanalysis systems, and preclinical imaging technologies.

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