Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on TECH. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.77.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $63.34 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.53. The firm has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.24, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 4.54 and a quick ratio of 3.08. Bio-Techne has a 1 year low of $46.01 and a 1 year high of $72.16.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The business had revenue of $295.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 16th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TECH. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 349.8% during 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at $98,238,000. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,658,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth about $58,477,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.