Brooks Automation (NASDAQ:BRKS) Downgraded by BidaskClub

Brooks Automation (NASDAQ:BRKS) was downgraded by equities researchers at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, January 23rd, BidAskClub reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BRKS. TheStreet raised Brooks Automation from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Zacks Investment Research raised Brooks Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded Brooks Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Brooks Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.60.

Shares of BRKS opened at $38.08 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.54. Brooks Automation has a 1 year low of $28.42 and a 1 year high of $50.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 1.37.

Brooks Automation (NASDAQ:BRKS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $200.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.38 million. Brooks Automation had a net margin of 55.99% and a return on equity of 6.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brooks Automation will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Brooks Automation news, CFO Lindon G. Robertson sold 47,597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.25, for a total transaction of $2,153,764.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,222,678.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen S. Schwartz sold 108,391 shares of Brooks Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.25, for a total transaction of $4,904,692.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 714,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,347,912.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 233,337 shares of company stock valued at $10,499,089. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brooks Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Brooks Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brooks Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brooks Automation by 475.5% in the fourth quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Brooks Automation by 118,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,186 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. 98.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Brooks Automation

Brooks Automation, Inc provides automation and cryogenic solutions for various markets. The company operates in two segments, Brooks Semiconductor Solutions Group and Brooks Life Science Systems. The Brooks Semiconductor Solutions Group segment offers mission-critical wafer automation and contamination controls solutions and services.

Share this:

Like this: