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.

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

Bio-Techne Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ TECH traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.31. 984,000 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 910,102. The company has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.60. The company has a current ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The company had revenue of $306.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.49 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bio-Techne will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Techne

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 922.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,427.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

About Bio-Techne

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.