Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Stock Price Down 5.8% – Should You Sell?

Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR)’s stock price fell 5.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $50.05 and last traded at $50.31. 548,473 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 2,271,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRKR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Bruker in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Bruker from $42.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Bruker in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “sell” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bruker from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Bruker from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.29.

Bruker Stock Down 5.9%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -314.16, a P/E/G ratio of 7.02 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $860.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.40 million. Bruker had a positive return on equity of 15.45% and a negative net margin of 0.61%.Bruker’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Bruker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.850-1.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -125.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John A. Ornell sold 6,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total transaction of $243,087.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,373,268. The trade was a 15.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 27.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd purchased a new stake in Bruker in the 2nd quarter worth $192,735,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 125.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,326,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $137,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,215 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Bruker in the second quarter worth about $62,032,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bruker in the second quarter worth about $44,459,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Bruker by 196.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,413,919 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,938,000 after buying an additional 936,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

About Bruker

Bruker Corporation, founded in 1960 by physicist Günther Laukien and headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, is a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance scientific instruments and analytical solutions. The company designs systems that enable molecular and materials research across academic, governmental, and industrial laboratories.

Bruker’s product portfolio encompasses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers for molecular structure and dynamics studies, mass spectrometry platforms for proteomics and metabolomics, X-ray diffraction and scattering instruments for crystallography and materials characterization, atomic force and scanning probe microscopes for nanoscale surface analysis, as well as preclinical imaging systems such as micro-CT and MRI scanners.

In addition to hardware, Bruker provides software suites, applications support, training services, and long-term maintenance agreements to ensure optimal instrument performance.