Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $61.87 and traded as high as $62.46. Bruker shares last traded at $61.25, with a volume of 867,430 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRKR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.45.

Bruker Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. This represents a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Bruker by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $987,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521,904 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,627,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $250,501,000 after purchasing an additional 318,808 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP grew its position in shares of Bruker by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 3,481,119 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $240,406,000 after acquiring an additional 37,024 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 10.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,993,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $137,702,000 after purchasing an additional 193,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Bruker by 127.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $88,666,000 after acquiring an additional 779,549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

About Bruker

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.