Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Downgraded to Equal Weight Rating by Wells Fargo & Company

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) was downgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $73.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.10% from the company’s current price.

TECH has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $49.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.92.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Bio-Techne stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $72.20. The stock had a trading volume of 681,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,464,960. The firm has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $66.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.19. Bio-Techne has a 12-month low of $43.19 and a 12-month high of $72.39.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The business had revenue of $321.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.63 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Athos Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the second quarter worth about $7,065,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter valued at $440,000. PEAK6 LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the second quarter worth $4,800,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter worth about $486,000. Finally, Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the second quarter worth approximately $2,374,000. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Bio-Techne News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bio-Techne exceeded quarterly revenue expectations, reporting $321.2 million versus the $314.6 million consensus estimate. Organic revenue increased 3%, led by stronger demand in its research and diagnostics businesses. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved substantially on a GAAP basis: fourth-quarter net income was $54.6 million, compared with a $17.7 million loss a year earlier, while GAAP EPS rose to $0.35 from a $0.11 loss. Full-year GAAP EPS increased to $1.16 from $0.46. Quiver Quantitative article
• Positive Sentiment: The company corrected its dividend announcement, confirming a $0.65-per-share payment for shareholders of record on September 4, payable September 24. The larger distribution is supportive for investors, although it may be tied to the pending acquisition. Bio-Techne dividend correction
• Neutral Sentiment: Adjusted EPS was $0.52, matching consensus but declining from $0.53 a year earlier. Reported revenue rose only 1.3% year over year, indicating modest underlying growth. Zacks earnings article
• Negative Sentiment: With the stock near the $73-per-share cash acquisition price, much of the deal-related upside appears already reflected, potentially limiting further gains unless the transaction is completed at a higher value or ahead of schedule. Bio-Techne also said it will stop holding quarterly investor conference calls following the announced Merck agreement.

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.