Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Gap Down to $82.94

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $82.94, but opened at $79.44. Bruker shares last traded at $79.12, with a volume of 429,035 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Bruker from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Bruker from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Bruker from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Bruker from $63.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.86.

Bruker Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.48 and its 200 day moving average is $73.83.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $844.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $809.35 million. Bruker had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 29.94%. Bruker’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total transaction of $1,350,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,147 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,618.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 28.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 33,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Bruker by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,414 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bruker by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bruker by 90.4% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 356 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 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.