SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 33,004 Shares of Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) by 24.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 103,634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 33,004 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $5,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TECH. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 506.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 673 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bio-Techne from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $62.00 price target on Bio-Techne and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, William Blair lowered Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.07.

Bio-Techne News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Bio-Techne this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA’s all-cash buyout offer gives Bio-Techne shareholders a clear takeover price and a premium valuation anchor. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Agrees to Acquire Bio-Techne, Strengthening Leadership Position in Fast-Growing Life Sciences Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions were mixed but included an upgrade from Evercore to strong-buy and a price-target increase from Baird to $73, reinforcing the view that the shares were moving toward deal value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for further merger-related volatility, but that activity does not change the takeover terms.
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-law-firm investigations have begun over whether the Merck deal provides a fair price, which could add some headline risk and scrutiny around the transaction. SHAREHOLDER ALERT: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH)

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH opened at $71.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.90, a PEG ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.49 and a quick ratio of 3.18. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1-year low of $43.19 and a 1-year high of $72.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.95 and a 200 day moving average of $57.07.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.Bio-Techne’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is 46.38%.

Bio-Techne Company Profile

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.