Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 41.7% in the first quarter, now holding 26,654 shares worth approximately $6.49 million.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Bio-Rad's rating from "hold" to "buy," with revised target prices ranging from $265 to $409.
• Bio-Rad reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $2.61 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.93.

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) by 41.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,654 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 19,059 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Bio-Rad Laboratories worth $6,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,343 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,800,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 14.6% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 966 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.2% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,500 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,262,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 4.6% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 7,182 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 25.4% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,033 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $387.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $355.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $333.50.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of BIO stock traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $264.45. 211,846 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,668. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $245.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 3.67 and a current ratio of 5.12. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a one year low of $211.43 and a one year high of $387.99.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical research company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $651.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $614.82 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a return on equity of 4.01% and a net margin of 12.50%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Profile

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company develops, manufactures, and markets instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables to separate, purify, characterize, and quantitate biological materials such as cells, proteins, and nucleic acids for proteomics, genomics, biopharmaceutical production, cellular biology, and food safety markets.