Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Short Interest Up 23.9% in February

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,710,000 shares, a growth of 23.9% from the February 13th total of 4,610,000 shares. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Bruker by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Bruker by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Bruker by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BRKR. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.50.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $46.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 61.42, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Bruker has a 1-year low of $44.11 and a 1-year high of $94.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $52.82 and its 200-day moving average is $58.00.

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

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.