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

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.77.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of Bio-Techne stock traded down $1.73 during trading on Monday, hitting $63.07. 255,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,400,069. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bio-Techne has a fifty-two week low of $46.01 and a fifty-two week high of $72.16.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $295.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.20 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 6.67%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 5,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 28.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

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.