Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Gap Up to $63.21

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $63.21, but opened at $70.54. Bio-Techne shares last traded at $76.32, with a volume of 655,489 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on TECH. Stephens reduced their price target on Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.90.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 4.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 54.93, a PEG ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.40.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $272.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $277.48 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 19.58%. Research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 23.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In other news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total value of $800,592.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,097 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,607.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.6% in the third quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. now owns 11,135 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,698 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 521 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 13,220 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Company Profile

Bio-Techne Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research and clinical diagnostic markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Greater China, rest of Asia-Pacific, and internationally.