Biomerieux has a beta of -1.0559. Let's try to break down what Biomerieux's beta means in this case. As returns on the market increase, returns on owning Biomerieux are expected to decrease at a much lower rate. During the bear market, Biomerieux is likely to outperform the market. The beta indicator helps investors understand whether Biomerieux moves in the same direction as the rest of the market, and how volatile (i.e., risky) it is compared to the market (i.e., selected benchmark). In other words, if Biomerieux deviates very little from the market, it does not add much risk to the portfolio, but it also doesn't increase the expected returns.