Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,669 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIO. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 140.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $51,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $59,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Bio-Rad Laboratories from $446.00 to $469.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Rad Laboratories news, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total value of $205,895.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,582.03. This represents a 80.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of BIO opened at $313.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.46 and a beta of 0.93. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a one year low of $262.12 and a one year high of $387.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.52 and a current ratio of 6.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $340.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.91.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.85. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.74% and a negative net margin of 30.18%. The company had revenue of $649.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.