Short Interest in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Declines By 31.7%

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,610,000 shares, a drop of 31.7% from the January 31st total of 6,750,000 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Bruker Stock Down 1.1 %

Bruker stock opened at $47.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60. Bruker has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $94.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.16.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bruker will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 11.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,272,000 after purchasing an additional 14,069 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Bruker by 446.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 22,878 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bruker during the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Bruker by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 602,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,584,000 after buying an additional 171,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $987,981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521,904 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRKR has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

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.