Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Techne currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.78.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Bio-Techne stock opened at $74.41 on Tuesday. Bio-Techne has a twelve month low of $56.45 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.16, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.21 and its 200 day moving average is $75.39.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Techne

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 563.1% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 13,739 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 11,667 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 20.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 200,662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,125,000 after purchasing an additional 33,709 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 135.5% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,990 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,252,000 after purchasing an additional 18,404 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the first quarter worth about $569,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 20.4% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,714,994 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,879,000 after buying an additional 290,510 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bio-Techne

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.