The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Price Target to $74.00

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) had its price target upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $66.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the medical research company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 16.58% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on BRKR. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Bruker from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Bruker in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Bruker from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Bruker from $63.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.86.

Bruker Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of BRKR stock traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $88.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 36,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,907. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.89. Bruker has a one year low of $53.79 and a one year high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. Bruker had a return on equity of 29.94% and a net margin of 14.41%. The business had revenue of $844.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $809.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Bruker will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bruker news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total value of $1,350,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,618.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 28.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 33,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,414 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,464,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bruker by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 90.4% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 356 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.