Atom Investors LP Acquires Shares of 351,673 Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Atom Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 351,673 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,682,000. Bio-Techne accounts for about 1.6% of Atom Investors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 buying an additional 562 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Techne stock opened at $56.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.20, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.25 and its 200 day moving average is $57.22. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1 year low of $43.19 and a 1 year high of $72.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.49 and a quick ratio of 3.18.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (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 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $62.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $49.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.15.

Bio-Techne 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.