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

Sector Gamma AS grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 28.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,827 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares during the quarter. Bio-Rad Laboratories makes up about 1.6% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $6,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BIO. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 60.7% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,517,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $607,478,000 after buying an additional 951,123 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,987,000. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 1,790.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 120,885 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,172,000 after acquiring an additional 114,490 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,763,000. Finally, Scopia Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,862,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.18, for a total value of $214,326.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 510 shares in the company, valued at $156,151.80. The trade was a 57.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BIO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $265.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Rad Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.50.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 3.0%

BIO opened at $295.92 on Friday. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.43 and a fifty-two week high of $373.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of -12.17 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 5.44 and a quick ratio of 3.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $312.34 and its 200 day moving average is $296.74.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The medical research company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $653.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.30 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 26.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.19%. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Profile

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.