Westport Asset Management Inc. Has $819,000 Position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)

Westport Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 50.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Westport Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 193.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Bio-Rad Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bio-Rad Laboratories

In other news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,582.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP James Barry sold 623 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.49, for a total transaction of $205,895.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,582.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Andrew J. Last sold 3,000 shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.94, for a total transaction of $989,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,494,016.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BIO. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (down from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $401.00 price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Rad Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.20.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of BIO stock opened at $333.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 6.28 and a quick ratio of 4.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $319.89 and a 200-day moving average of $307.37. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has a one year low of $261.59 and a one year high of $377.88. The company has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.21 and a beta of 0.95.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $638.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.79 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 3.77% and a negative net margin of 51.73%. Bio-Rad Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post 10.31 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.