Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Stock Rating Upgraded by Evercore

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) was upgraded by research analysts at Evercore from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. William Blair lowered shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners set a $73.00 target price on Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Bio-Techne from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.79.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 20.1%

Shares of NASDAQ TECH opened at $70.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 4.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.99. Bio-Techne has a fifty-two week low of $43.19 and a fifty-two week high of $72.16. The company has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.47, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.37.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $311.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 13.57%. Bio-Techne’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TECH. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 349.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,115,133 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $284,555,000 after purchasing an additional 3,978,026 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 164.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,012,818 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $235,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495,328 shares in the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 131.4% in the first quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 3,392,001 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $177,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,926,066 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,494,000. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth $77,658,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Bio-Techne News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA agreed to buy Bio-Techne for $73 per share in cash, giving shareholders a clear exit value and likely driving the stock toward the deal price. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Agrees to Acquire Bio-Techne
• Positive Sentiment: The offer represents a sizable premium to Bio-Techne’s recent share price, which typically boosts takeover-target stocks as investors price in deal completion. Germany’s Merck to buy Bio-Techne for $73 per share
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced shareholder investigations into whether Bio-Techne’s board secured a fair price, which could create legal noise but does not change the announced deal terms. Shareholder Alert: Ademi LLP investigates whether Bio-Techne Corporation is obtaining a Fair Price for Public Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so the move appears driven more by the takeover announcement than by short covering. Bio-Techne Surges on $73-Per-Share Cash Takeover Agreement

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.