Bio-Rad Gains 19.1% in the Past Month: Can Its Momentum Keep Building?

Shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories BIO have climbed 19.1% in the past month, putting the durability of that momentum in focus. Digital PCR demand and steadier Clinical Diagnostics performance provide support.

Yet Life Science demand remains weak and the stock trades at a sizable valuation premium. Planned cost savings could help margins, but investors must weigh execution against subdued end markets.

BIO's Digital PCR Momentum Supports the Bull Case

Bio-Rad's currency-neutral droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) revenues rose 6% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, while instrument revenues increased more than 20%. Management cited competitive wins and conversions from quantitative PCR. The Stilla portfolio also accelerated revenue growth and delivered margins ahead of management's original expectations.

In the past year, the company’s shares have risen 26.4% against the industry’s 23.1% decline. 

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Management expects ddPCR to contribute to a mid-single-digit sequential Life Science revenue ramp from the third quarter to the fourth quarter. QIAGEN N.V. QGEN markets its QIAcuity Digital PCR System. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. TMO offers the QuantStudio Absolute Q Digital PCR System. Both illustrate the competitive backdrop around digital PCR instruments.

Bio-Rad Diagnostics Adds Recurring Revenue Support

Clinical Diagnostics generated $399 million in second-quarter sales, up 2.6% year over year reported and 0.3% currency-neutral. Quality systems, diabetes products and blood typing drove growth, partly offset by lower infectious disease sales.

Clinical Diagnostics represented 60.5% of Bio-Rad's 2025 revenues. Management expects quality controls and blood typing to contribute to sequential improvement into the fourth quarter, giving BIO a recurring-revenue base that can partly cushion the uneven Life Science cycle.

BIO Still Faces Weak Life Science Demand

Life Science remains the main constraint. Second-quarter sales fell 4.1% reported and 5.1% currency-neutral as academic research demand stayed soft and process chromatography faced a difficult comparison. Excluding process chromatography, currency-neutral revenues were approximately flat.

Management expects full-year 2026 Life Science currency-neutral revenues to decline between 3% and 1%. Academic and government demand remains below historical levels, biopharma stabilization is still early and China declined in the high teens. Those conditions limit visibility into a broader recovery.

Bio-Rad's Valuation Raises the Bar After the Rally

After the rally, valuation leaves less room for execution misses. BIO trades at 40.2X forward 12-month earnings, compared with 17.4X for the Medical-Products sub-industry and its five-year median of 28.8X. The premium raises the importance of sustained operating improvement.

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Bio-Rad's restructuring program is expected to deliver $30 million to $35 million of annualized net cost savings after reinvestment and about 40-50 basis points of operating-margin expansion in 2027. Realizing those benefits would help support the premium, while weaker demand could make the multiple harder to defend.

BIO's Mixed Scores Temper the Momentum Case

The 19.1% monthly move has support from digital PCR placements, steadier diagnostics demand and planned cost actions, but the broader picture is mixed. Weak Life Science spending and an elevated valuation keep the momentum case balanced.

BIO currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), with a Value Score of C and Growth Score of D, Momentum Score of D and VGM Score of D. Within the Zacks Style Scores, A and B are preferred to C and D, while the Zacks Rank is the primary short-term screen. That mix does not provide the stronger confirmation associated with top-ranked stocks and favorable Style Scores. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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