Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Short Interest Update

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,710,000 shares, an increase of 23.9% from the February 13th total of 4,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of BRKR opened at $47.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 62.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker has a 52-week low of $44.11 and a 52-week high of $94.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Equities research analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Bruker’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $987,981,000 after buying an additional 2,521,904 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 4,193,454 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $245,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,294 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 484.1% in the fourth quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 1,714,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $100,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,569 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of Bruker by 262.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $114,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Bruker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,997,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

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.