Sector Gamma AS Takes $7.62 Million Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Sector Gamma AS acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 23,609 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,623,000. Bio-Rad Laboratories makes up about 1.8% of Sector Gamma AS’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $77,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 352 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories by 25.0% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 375 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Price Performance

BIO stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $275.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 179,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,184. The stock has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of -12.84 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 5.83, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $261.59 and a fifty-two week high of $473.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $324.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.57.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.17. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 23.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. The business had revenue of $681.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BIO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $484.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Rad Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $468.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.00, for a total value of $1,008,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,512. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

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.