First Trust Advisors LP Has $424,000 Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. $BIO

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors sharply reduced its Bio-Rad Laboratories stake by 97.3% in the first quarter, selling 55,710 shares and retaining 1,522 shares worth approximately $424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company.
• Bio-Rad reported quarterly earnings of $2.62 per share, beating analysts’ $1.75 estimate, while revenue of $651 million exceeded expectations. Shares opened at $361.57, near their 12-month high.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $343.33, despite RBC raising its target to $370 and maintaining an “outperform” rating.

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) by 97.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,522 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 55,710 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BIO. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 115.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 184 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock opened at $361.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.83 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $306.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.47. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 12-month low of $236.73 and a 12-month high of $362.42.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $651.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $623.99 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 3.54%. Bio-Rad Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $343.33.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc is a global provider of life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The company operates through two primary business segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. Within the Life Science segment, Bio-Rad offers instruments, reagents and consumables for protein analysis, cell biology, gene expression and other molecular biology applications. The Clinical Diagnostics segment supplies quality control products, blood-typing reagents and instruments, and molecular diagnostic assays used in blood screening, infectious disease testing and routine clinical laboratories.

Founded in 1952 by David and Alice Schwartz and headquartered in Hercules, California, Bio-Rad has grown its footprint across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other regions.

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