Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $247.50 and last traded at $247.66, with a volume of 175250 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $261.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BIO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $481.00 target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $360.00 to $345.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.87 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $316.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $329.48. The company has a quick ratio of 4.85, a current ratio of 6.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.04. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 71.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 95.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,836,000 after purchasing an additional 21,669 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 84.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,405,000. Finally, Winslow Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Winslow Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,262 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,118,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company develops, manufactures, and markets instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables to separate, purify, characterize, and quantitate biological materials such as cells, proteins, and nucleic acids for proteomics, genomics, biopharmaceutical production, cellular biology, and food safety markets.