Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Short Interest Up 18.8% in December

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 655,500 shares, a growth of 18.8% from the December 15th total of 551,600 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 183,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BIO traded down $1.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $342.95. 124,273 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 140,854. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 1 year low of $262.12 and a 1 year high of $387.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $336.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $330.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.55 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 6.14 and a quick ratio of 4.52.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.85. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.74% and a negative net margin of 30.18%. The business had revenue of $649.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BIO. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 4.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,380 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 19.6% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,719 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 9.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,051 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,783,000 after purchasing an additional 9,185 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 0.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 348,540 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $95,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 64.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 494,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $135,081,000 after purchasing an additional 193,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BIO shares. StockNews.com raised Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $481.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $394.20.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

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.