Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Short Interest Up 8.4% in September

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,260,000 shares, an increase of 8.4% from the September 15th total of 3,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Bruker Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of Bruker stock traded down $1.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $61.27. 1,638,573 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,044,984. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.49. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker has a fifty-two week low of $53.79 and a fifty-two week high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. The business had revenue of $800.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $799.44 million. Bruker had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bruker will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is 7.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRKR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays initiated coverage on Bruker in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Bruker from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Bruker from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BRKR. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Bruker by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,788,763 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $168,036,000 after buying an additional 123,984 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,593,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 21.8% during the first quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 162,191 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,236,000 after purchasing an additional 29,029 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Bruker during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,142,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Bruker in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,472,000. 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.