Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $48.25, but opened at $50.62. Bruker shares last traded at $53.07, with a volume of 869,944 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.36.

Bruker Trading Up 5.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.77. The company has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The company had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 21.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $987,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521,904 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Bruker by 127.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $88,666,000 after buying an additional 779,549 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Bruker during the second quarter worth approximately $36,472,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 4,875.9% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 470,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,470,000 after acquiring an additional 460,722 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Bruker by 1,933.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 410,234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,331,000 after acquiring an additional 390,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.