Short Interest in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Expands By 9.6%

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $57.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.65. Bruker has a fifty-two week low of $48.07 and a fifty-two week high of $94.86.

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 net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The company had revenue of $864.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Bruker will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Bruker’s payout ratio is 9.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.70.

Insider Transactions at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 100,000 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Bruker by 21.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $987,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521,904 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 127.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $88,666,000 after purchasing an additional 779,549 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Bruker in the second quarter worth approximately $36,472,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its position in Bruker by 4,875.9% during the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 470,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,470,000 after buying an additional 460,722 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Bruker by 1,933.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 410,234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,331,000 after buying an additional 390,057 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

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.