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

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

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on TECH. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.78.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock opened at $67.57 on Tuesday. Bio-Techne has a 52-week low of $60.53 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 71.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.39.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 6.2% in the first quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,185 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,333 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.