Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH)

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 10,205 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 788% compared to the average volume of 1,149 call options.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 0.4%

Bio-Techne stock opened at $71.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.49 and a quick ratio of 3.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $52.95 and its 200-day moving average is $57.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of 102.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.37. Bio-Techne has a fifty-two week low of $43.19 and a fifty-two week high of $72.16.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $311.42 million for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

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

Bio-Techne News Summary

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)

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $62.00 price objective on Bio-Techne and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. William Blair cut Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Bio-Techne from $49.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Bio-Techne from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TECH. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 15,993.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,725 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 7,677 shares in the last quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 31.2% during the first quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC now owns 45,905 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,399,000 after buying an additional 10,915 shares in the last quarter. Summitry LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 17.1% during the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 6,013 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the first quarter valued at about $5,749,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the first quarter valued at about $292,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

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.