Stock of the Day

May 18, 2020

Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO)

$304.61
+$3.63 (+1.2%)
Market Cap: $8.05B

About Bio-Rad Laboratories

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company develops, manufactures, and markets instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables to separate, purify, characterize, and quantitate biological materials such as cells, proteins, and nucleic acids for proteomics, genomics, biopharmaceutical production, cellular biology, and food safety markets. It also designs, manufactures, markets, and supports test systems, informatics systems, test kits, and specialized quality controls for hospitals, diagnostic reference, transfusion, and physician office laboratories. The company offers its products through its direct sales force, as well as through distributors, agents, brokers, and resellers. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Hercules, California.

Today's Trend

Bio‑Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO) is trading lower after its Q1 results and a subsequent outlook cut. Investors are reacting to an EPS miss, a trimmed FY‑2026 revenue outlook and higher trading volume, despite a small revenue beat and healthy margins.

  • Revenue/operational positives — Q1 revenue of $592.1M slightly beat the consensus (~$590M) and revenue was up ~1.1% year‑over‑year; the company still shows a strong net margin (~29%). These factors provide some support versus a pure earnings shock. MarketBeat Q1 Release
  • Analyst action — Wells Fargo cut its price target from $320 to $290 but kept an "equal weight" rating; the new PT still implies upside versus the current share level, which moderates the negative read on the name. Benzinga
  • Full earnings call transcript now available — details on segment drivers, margin commentary and near‑term cadence are in the call and may clarify management's guidance changes for investors. Earnings Call Transcript
  • EPS miss — Q1 EPS was $1.89, below consensus (about $1.97) and down from $2.54 a year earlier, a clear earnings disappointment that weighed on sentiment. Zacks
  • Guidance cut — Management trimmed its FY‑2026 outlook, issuing revenue guidance of about $2.5B–$2.6B versus consensus nearer the top of that range; the company explicitly lowered its outlook, which is the main driver of the share decline. TipRanks

Bottom line for investors: the stock is down as the market focuses on the EPS miss and the trimmed FY‑2026 outlook. Offsetting factors — a small revenue beat, strong margins and a still‑supportive (if reduced) analyst price target — limit the selloff but don’t erase the near‑term uncertainty. Review management commentary in the earnings call to assess whether the guidance cut reflects temporary headwinds or a more persistent slowdown.