Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Downgraded by Leerink Partners to Hold

Leerink Partners cut shares of Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

TECH has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $62.00 target price on Bio-Techne and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $49.00 price objective on Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, William Blair lowered Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.79.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 20.1%

NASDAQ TECH opened at $70.70 on Thursday. Bio-Techne has a 1-year low of $43.19 and a 1-year high of $72.16. The company has a current ratio of 4.49, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.70 and a 200-day moving average of $56.99. The firm has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 102.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.37.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.The company had revenue of $311.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. Bio-Techne’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TECH. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth about $11,468,000. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 69.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC now owns 174,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,717,000 after acquiring an additional 71,739 shares during the period. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,023,000. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 559,189 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,108,000 after acquiring an additional 37,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 53.5% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 104,507 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,814,000 after acquiring an additional 36,424 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Bio-Techne

Here are the key news stories impacting Bio-Techne this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA’s $73-per-share cash offer provides a large takeover premium and a valuation floor for Bio-Techne, which is the main reason the stock is higher. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The acquisition could create strategic and financial upside for Merck, including expected cost synergies, which supports confidence that the transaction is serious and likely to proceed. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Law firms have launched shareholder investigations into whether Bio-Techne’s board obtained a fair price in the sale, which could create some deal-related noise but does not change the announced terms yet. Article Title

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.