Westport Asset Management Inc. Invests $881,000 in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. $BIO

Key Points

• Westport Asset Management purchased 3,000 Bio-Rad Laboratories shares worth approximately $881,000 during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 65.24% of the company.
• Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $343.33, despite target increases from Citigroup, RBC, and Wells Fargo.
• Bio-Rad reported quarterly EPS of $2.62, beating estimates of $1.75, while revenue reached $651 million versus the $623.99 million consensus. Shares opened at $365.40, near their 12-month high.

Westport Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,000 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $881,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIO. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 184 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $343.33.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Up 3.6%

BIO opened at $365.40 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $312.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.29 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. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a twelve month low of $236.73 and a twelve month high of $367.95.

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

Bio-Rad Laboratories Profile

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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