Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 2,142,033 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 3,269,894 shares.The stock last traded at $70.7760 and had previously closed at $70.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TECH. Evercore raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Bio-Techne from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $62.00 target price on Bio-Techne and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. William Blair lowered Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Bio-Techne from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.79.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $53.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.22. The stock has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.54, a P/E/G ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 506.3% in 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 during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.