Insider Selling: Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) CEO Sells 13,392 Shares of Stock

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded down $2.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.83. 1,373,345 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 962,558. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.53. The firm has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.56. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $61.16 and a 52 week high of $85.57.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,188,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 16,038 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 100.0% in the third quarter. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,986,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 254,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,298,000 after purchasing an additional 25,650 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.