Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Gap Down to $79.03

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $79.03, but opened at $74.86. Bruker shares last traded at $69.63, with a volume of 952,457 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BRKR. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Bruker from $63.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Bruker from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Bruker from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Bruker from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Bruker from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $60.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.86.

Bruker Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.05.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $721.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $729.88 million. Bruker had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 29.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Bruker’s payout ratio is 6.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bruker news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total transaction of $1,350,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,618.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 28.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRKR. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Bruker by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 58.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,569,000 after acquiring an additional 15,137 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bruker during the third quarter worth about $266,000. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bruker during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $671,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Bruker in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $321,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.