Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.5714.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research cut Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bio-Techne from $59.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Bio-Techne by 349.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,115,133 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $284,555,000 after acquiring an additional 3,978,026 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 164.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,012,818 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $235,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495,328 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the second quarter valued at approximately $98,238,000. Durable Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,658,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,037,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $113,363,000 after buying an additional 894,987 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of TECH opened at $65.56 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 4.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.80, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.47. Bio-Techne has a one year low of $46.01 and a one year high of $79.28.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company had revenue of $286.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.02 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and sells high-quality reagents, instruments and services for the research, diagnostic and bioprocessing markets. Its core product offerings include recombinant proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, nucleic acid probes and kits, single-cell analysis solutions and automated protein analysis systems. Flagship brands such as R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics provide researchers and clinicians with reliable tools for cell biology, immunology, proteomics and genomics applications.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne serves customers across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through a combination of direct sales, distributors and strategic partnerships.