Sector Gamma AS Buys 4,998 Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. $BIO

Sector Gamma AS increased its stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 28.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,827 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,998 shares during the quarter. Bio-Rad Laboratories comprises approximately 1.6% of Sector Gamma AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Sector Gamma AS owned about 0.08% of Bio-Rad Laboratories worth $6,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIO. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 60.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,517,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $607,478,000 after acquiring an additional 951,123 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 13.0% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 818,624 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $197,550,000 after purchasing an additional 93,964 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 5.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 452,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $109,109,000 after purchasing an additional 21,594 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 3.9% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 386,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $93,379,000 after purchasing an additional 14,394 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 3.6% during the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 139,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,665,000 after buying an additional 4,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $265.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $358.50.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

BIO stock opened at $295.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.17 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $312.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 3.94 and a current ratio of 5.44. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.43 and a 52-week high of $373.69.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The medical research company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $653.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.30 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 4.19% and a negative net margin of 26.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total value of $214,326.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,151.80. This represents a 57.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

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.