Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $54.72 and last traded at $58.08, with a volume of 101947 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRKR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Bruker from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Bruker from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.82.

Bruker Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.68.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $800.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $799.44 million. Bruker had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 24.92%. Bruker’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Bruker’s payout ratio is currently 8.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 3.6% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 36,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 446,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,835,000 after acquiring an additional 43,200 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Bruker by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,698 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Bruker by 23.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Bruker during the third quarter worth about $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.