Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Bio-Rad shares rose above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as $394.29 and last changing hands at $389.18, versus a 200-day average of $298.72.
• Analysts remain cautious: one rates the stock Buy and four rate it Hold, producing a consensus Hold rating and a $343.33 price target—below the current share price.
• Bio-Rad beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.62 in EPS versus the $1.75 consensus and $651 million in revenue versus $624 million expected; institutional investors own 65.24% of the stock.

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $298.72 and traded as high as $394.29. Bio-Rad Laboratories shares last traded at $389.18, with a volume of 148,023 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BIO. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Rad Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $343.33.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Up 0.2%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $334.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.72. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 47.17 and a beta of 1.07.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $651.00 million during 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%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 9.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 25.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,310 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $7,382,000 after purchasing an additional 6,100 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 45.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 105,006 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,575,000 after purchasing an additional 32,874 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,383 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,105,000 after purchasing an additional 18,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,192 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company's stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company 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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