Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Stock Price Down 5.8% on Insider Selling

Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) traded down 5.8% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $50.05 and last traded at $50.31. 548,473 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 2,271,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.41.

Specifically, VP Mark Munch sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 128,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,365. The trade was a 5.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRKR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “sell” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Rothschild Redb upgraded Bruker to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $42.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.29.

Bruker Trading Up 0.6%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.02 and a 200-day moving average of $40.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -309.03, a P/E/G ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $860.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $847.40 million. Bruker had a negative net margin of 0.61% and a positive return on equity of 15.45%. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Bruker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.850-1.90 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -125.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BRKR. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd bought a new position in shares of Bruker in the second quarter worth about $192,735,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 125.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,326,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $137,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,215 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP boosted its stake in Bruker by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 3,074,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $126,682,000 after purchasing an additional 476,363 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Bruker by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,746,163 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $113,142,000 after buying an additional 336,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Bruker by 61.6% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,090,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $67,909,000 after buying an additional 796,510 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Company Profile

Bruker Corporation, founded in 1960 by physicist Günther Laukien and headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, is a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance scientific instruments and analytical solutions. The company designs systems that enable molecular and materials research across academic, governmental, and industrial laboratories.

Bruker’s product portfolio encompasses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers for molecular structure and dynamics studies, mass spectrometry platforms for proteomics and metabolomics, X-ray diffraction and scattering instruments for crystallography and materials characterization, atomic force and scanning probe microscopes for nanoscale surface analysis, as well as preclinical imaging systems such as micro-CT and MRI scanners.

In addition to hardware, Bruker provides software suites, applications support, training services, and long-term maintenance agreements to ensure optimal instrument performance.