Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $367.21 and last traded at $365.6340, with a volume of 18684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $352.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Rad Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $343.33.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of 45.71 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is $314.12 and its 200-day moving average is $292.19.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.87. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 3.54%. The company had revenue of $651.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $623.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BIO. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,570,473 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $778,828,000 after buying an additional 50,154 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,089,323 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $303,637,000 after acquiring an additional 12,251 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 494,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $149,820,000 after acquiring an additional 76,117 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 459,887 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $128,948,000 after acquiring an additional 7,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2,271.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 397,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $111,363,000 after purchasing an additional 380,422 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc is a global provider of life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The company operates through two primary business segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. Within the Life Science segment, Bio-Rad offers instruments, reagents and consumables for protein analysis, cell biology, gene expression and other molecular biology applications. The Clinical Diagnostics segment supplies quality control products, blood-typing reagents and instruments, and molecular diagnostic assays used in blood screening, infectious disease testing and routine clinical laboratories.

Founded in 1952 by David and Alice Schwartz and headquartered in Hercules, California, Bio-Rad has grown its footprint across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other regions.