Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Price Target Raised to $73.00 at Robert W. Baird

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $49.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target indicates a potential upside of 3.25% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on TECH. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price target on Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Leerink Partners set a $73.00 price objective on Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair lowered Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.50.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 20.1%

Bio-Techne stock opened at $70.70 on Friday. Bio-Techne has a 12-month low of $43.19 and a 12-month high of $72.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.70 and a 200 day moving average of $56.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.49, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $311.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 13.57%. Bio-Techne’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 349.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,115,133 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $284,555,000 after purchasing an additional 3,978,026 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 164.4% during 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 last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 131.4% in the 1st quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 3,392,001 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $177,266,000 after buying an additional 1,926,066 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth $99,494,000. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $77,658,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Bio-Techne

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA’s $73-per-share cash offer provides a large takeover premium and a valuation floor for Bio-Techne, which is the main reason the stock is higher. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The acquisition could create strategic and financial upside for Merck, including expected cost synergies, which supports confidence that the transaction is serious and likely to proceed. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Law firms have launched shareholder investigations into whether Bio-Techne’s board obtained a fair price in the sale, which could create some deal-related noise but does not change the announced terms yet. Article Title

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.