Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Short Interest Update

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, an increase of 9.6% from the November 15th total of 3,010,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRKR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research cut Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 28.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,484 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Bruker by 25.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Bruker by 1,694.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 202,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,936,000 after acquiring an additional 191,435 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Bruker by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 20.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bruker Price Performance

BRKR traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,529,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,114,317. The company has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.66. Bruker has a 1 year low of $48.07 and a 1 year high of $94.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.83 and a 200 day moving average of $62.78.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bruker will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Bruker Company Profile

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.