Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Bio-Rad shares opened sharply lower, falling from a previous close of $377.71 to $357.28 before recovering to $362.05.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $343.33; targets were recently raised by Wells Fargo, Citigroup and RBC.
• Despite nearly flat year-over-year revenue, Bio-Rad beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.62 in EPS versus the $1.75 consensus and revenue of $651 million versus $624 million expected.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $377.71, but opened at $357.28. Bio-Rad Laboratories shares last traded at $362.05, with a volume of 2,749 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BIO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. 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 report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. 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, Bio-Rad Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $343.33.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Up 2.9%

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's 50 day moving average is $366.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.66. The company has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 44.33 and a beta of 1.07.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 3.54%. The business had revenue of $651.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 9.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,089,323 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $303,637,000 after acquiring an additional 12,251 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 494,472 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $149,820,000 after purchasing an additional 76,117 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 57.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 233,227 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $68,478,000 after purchasing an additional 85,393 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 165,107 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $50,026,000 after purchasing an additional 9,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,600,000. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company's stock.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc is a global life science research and clinical diagnostics company headquartered in Hercules, California. Founded in 1952, the company develops, manufactures and sells products that support scientific research, biotechnology production, medical testing and quality assurance.

Its Life Science segment provides instruments, reagents, consumables and software used in areas such as genomics, proteomics, cell biology, digital PCR, electrophoresis, chromatography and biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.