Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $39.88 and last traded at $41.15, with a volume of 2206068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Bruker Trading Up 1.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.15, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRKR. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Bruker by 11.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,272,000 after purchasing an additional 14,069 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bruker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $300,000. RTW Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 3,481,119 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $240,406,000 after buying an additional 37,024 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Bruker by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 988,863 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $57,967,000 after buying an additional 69,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Bruker by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.