Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $243.76 and last traded at $245.16, with a volume of 90768 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $247.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BIO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $481.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 4.85 and a current ratio of 6.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $299.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $324.12.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.04. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 71.86%. Equities analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $342,686,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 705.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 427,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $140,370,000 after acquiring an additional 374,269 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $83,681,000. Ariel Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 560,524 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $184,138,000 after purchasing an additional 181,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $41,644,000. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

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.