Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $72.93 and last traded at $72.78, with a volume of 415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on TECH shares. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Argus downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Bio-Techne from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $73.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.92.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 0.0%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a PE ratio of 63.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.29.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $299.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.60 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This is a negative change from Bio-Techne’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Techne

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HBK Investments L P purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the second quarter valued at $482,186,000. S&CO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,412,000. American Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,021,128 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,364,000 after purchasing an additional 79,979 shares during the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,865,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2,094.5% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 91,268 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,448,000 after acquiring an additional 87,109 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne is a life sciences company that develops and supplies products and services used in biological research, drug development, and clinical diagnostics. Its offerings include proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, and small molecules, as well as instruments and analytical tools for studying cells and biological processes. The company also provides technologies for protein analysis, molecular diagnostics, and spatial biology. Its portfolio includes products and services associated with brands such as R&D Systems, Tocris, ProteinSimple, and Advanced Cell Diagnostics.