Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $51.72 on Friday. Bio-Techne has a 12-month low of $50.35 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.78. The firm has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 52.24, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Techne

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,830 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 0.7% in the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 86,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,922,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in Bio-Techne by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 5,274 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 66,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,314,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 41,103 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,285,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Company Profile

Bio-Techne Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research and clinical diagnostic markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Greater China, rest of Asia-Pacific, and internationally.