Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Shares Gap Down to $328.72

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $328.72, but opened at $322.13. Bio-Rad Laboratories shares last traded at $330.93, with a volume of 30,785 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BIO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $484.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $468.00.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 5.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $333.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $324.00. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of -15.30 and a beta of 0.87.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $681.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.00 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 23.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. The business's revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.00, for a total transaction of $1,008,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,512. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BIO. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 14.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 23.0% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 2,891 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 5.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 501 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 11.9% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 65,094 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $36,663,000 after purchasing an additional 6,936 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company's stock.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

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.