Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Holdings in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.

In the third quarter, Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) by 2.9%, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Following this adjustment, the fund currently holds 117,243 shares of the medical research company's stock, after selling 3,469 shares during the quarter. As detailed in the latest SEC filing, Franklin Resources Inc. has approximately 0.42% ownership of Bio-Rad Laboratories, which is valued at $39,987,000.

In addition to Franklin Resources, several other institutional investors have also been active in trading Bio-Rad shares. For instance, First Eagle Investment Management LLC dramatically increased its stake by an impressive 32,296.9% in the second quarter, bringing its total to 636,275 shares worth $173,773,000 after acquiring an additional 634,311 shares last quarter. Similarly, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings by 95.6%, now owning 44,341 shares valued at $14,836,000 following a purchase of 21,669 shares.

Additionally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. elevated its position in the company by 63.0% during the third quarter, bringing its share count to 217,885, valued at $72,900,000 after acquiring 84,237 shares. Verition Fund Management LLC also made an increase, acquiring 3,470 shares with a value of $1,161,000, representing a 193.3% growth due to purchasing an extra 2,287 shares in the quarter. Lastly, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake by 341.7%, owning 5,300 shares worth $1,773,000 after increasing its position by 4,100 shares.

Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds control 65.24% of Bio-Rad’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Insights

Recent commentary from equity research analysts regarding BIO shows a mix of optimism. Royal Bank of Canada has raised its target price for Bio-Rad Laboratories from $369.00 to $481.00, affirming an "outperform" rating in a report from December 9th. Likewise, Citigroup increased its price target from $400.00 to $450.00, recommending a "buy" rating. Wells Fargo & Company began its coverage on Bio-Rad stocks, issuing an "equal weight" rating and setting a price objective at $340.00.

Moreover, StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Rad Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note released on November 1st. The current consensus rating for the stock is "Moderate Buy", with an average target price of $394.20, according to MarketBeat.com.

Current Stock Performance of Bio-Rad Laboratories

As of Wednesday, Bio-Rad Laboratories stocks opened at $337.28. The company has established a fifty-day moving average of $341.35 and a two-hundred-day moving average of $322.07. With a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, the stock bears a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.34, along with a beta of 0.90. Over the past year, Bio-Rad’s stock has seen a low of $262.12 and a high of $387.99. Key financial metrics reflect a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.52, and a current ratio of 6.14.

On October 30th, Bio-Rad Laboratories announced its quarterly earnings, reporting earnings per share of $2.01. This figure surpassed analysts’ expectations of $1.16 by $0.85. The company generated $649.70 million in revenue for the quarter, exceeding predictions of $628.18 million. Bio-Rad's return on equity stood at 3.74%, although it faced a negative net margin of 30.18%. The revenue marked a 2.8% increase compared to the same period last year, although the previous year’s earnings per share were reported at $2.33. Analysts predict that Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. will post EPS of 10.29 for the current year.

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. specializes in manufacturing and distributing life science research and clinical diagnostic products across various regions including the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company operates through two main segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics, and develops, manufactures, and markets instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables aimed at separating, purifying, characterizing, and quantifying biological materials like cells, proteins, and nucleic acids. These products serve diverse markets, such as proteomics, genomics, biopharmaceutical production, cellular biology, and food safety.

Franklin, Bio-Rad, Investment