Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Price Target to $50.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered its price target for Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) from $60.00 to $50.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating amidst other brokerage adjustments that indicate a generally neutral outlook.
• Bruker reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $0.32 compared to the expected $0.43, and revenue decreased by 0.4% year-over-year.
• Over 79.5% of Bruker's stock is owned by institutional investors, with significant increases in stakes from multiple firms during recent quarters.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the medical research company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 49.10% from the stock's current price.

BRKR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays cut their price objective on Bruker from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Bruker from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bruker currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.30.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.54. 1,124,923 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,374,340. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.69, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.16. Bruker has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $72.94. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $39.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.11). Bruker had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $797.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.17 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Bruker's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bruker will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Bruker

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 2,608 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 38,462,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,475,408,879.56. This represents a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 27.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 377.5% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bruker during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 92.4% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 758 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Bruker during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 1,354.5% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 800 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bruker Company Profile

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.

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