Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $73.00. The stock had previously closed at $58.88, but opened at $70.23. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Bio-Techne shares last traded at $70.2570, with a volume of 17,111,436 shares.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. William Blair downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $73.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.07.

Key Stories Impacting Bio-Techne

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA’s all-cash buyout offer gives Bio-Techne shareholders a clear takeover price and a premium valuation anchor. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Agrees to Acquire Bio-Techne, Strengthening Leadership Position in Fast-Growing Life Sciences Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions were mixed but included an upgrade from Evercore to strong-buy and a price-target increase from Baird to $73, reinforcing the view that the shares were moving toward deal value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for further merger-related volatility, but that activity does not change the takeover terms.
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-law-firm investigations have begun over whether the Merck deal provides a fair price, which could add some headline risk and scrutiny around the transaction. SHAREHOLDER ALERT: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH)

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TECH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,063,939 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $62,379,000 after acquiring an additional 113,634 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Bio-Techne by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,356 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 3,814 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 506.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 673 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,085.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 105,418 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,424,000 after purchasing an additional 96,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 82.6% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis now owns 24,991 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after buying an additional 11,306 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 0.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.09. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.38%.

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.