Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $45.11 and last traded at $44.9130, with a volume of 865888 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TECH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $49.00 target price on Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $62.00 target price on Bio-Techne and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.92.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.91. 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 company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.38, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.41.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 59.6% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,831 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 4.9% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 49,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth $19,173,000. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth $409,000. Finally, Gibbs Wealth Management bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the first quarter valued at $425,000. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

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.