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With a market cap of $9.5 billion, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (BIO) operates in the healthcare and life sciences industry. The Hercules, California-based company develops and manufactures a wide range of clinical diagnostics and life science research products, serving markets such as biopharmaceuticals, genomics, proteomics, and food safety.
Companies valued at less than $10 billion are generally considered “mid-cap” stocks and Bio-Rad Laboratories fits this criterion perfectly. Bio-Rad Laboratories is renowned for its pioneering Digital Droplet technology, which offers unmatched precision and sensitivity in quantifying DNA and RNA molecules, setting it apart in both life science research and clinical diagnostics.
However, shares of the biomedical research instrument maker have fallen 9.4% from its 52-week high of $366.30. BIO stock has returned nearly 22% over the past three months, outperforming the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) 4.9% gain over the same time frame.
Nevertheless, longer term, BIO is up 2.8% on a YTD basis, lagging behind XLV’s 12.2% rise. Moreover, shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories have declined 5.9% over the past 52 weeks, compared to XLV’s 18.5% gains over the same time frame.
Yet, BIO has been trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since July despite a few recent fluctuations.
Despite reporting better-than-expected Q2 adjusted EPS of $3.11 on Aug. 1, shares of Bio-Rad fell 1.6% the following day due to a disappointing annual revenue forecast that highlighted weak demand for clinical diagnostics products from biotech clients. The company also experienced a drop in sales from its life science unit, indicating ongoing challenges in the biotech and biopharma sectors. Bio-Rad's revenue of $638.5 million for the quarter also missed analysts' expectations, raising concerns among investors about its market performance.
Highlighting its underperformance, Bio-Rad Laboratories has lagged behind its rival Qiagen N.V. (QGEN), which has gained 14.6% over the past 52 weeks and is up 4.2% on a YTD basis.
Despite the stock’s weak price action over the past year, analysts are moderately optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $370.20 represents a premium of 11.6% to current levels.
On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
