Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Stock Lifted to Strong-Buy by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Bio-Techne from “hold” to “strong buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with an average price target of $68.92.
• Bio-Techne shares opened at $72.66, near their 12-month high of $72.75, and were trading essentially flat. The company reported quarterly revenue of $321.19 million and earnings of $0.52 per share, matching estimates and exceeding revenue expectations.
• Institutional investors own 98.95% of Bio-Techne’s stock, with major funds including BlackRock and HBK Investments recently establishing significant positions.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bio-Techne from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Evercore lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Bio-Techne from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Argus cut Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.92.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.1%

Bio-Techne stock opened at $72.66 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $72.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.28. The company has a quick ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne has a 12 month low of $43.19 and a 12 month high of $72.75.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 14.97%. The company had revenue of $321.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bio-Techne will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Techne

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter valued at about $990,924,000. HBK Investments L P acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $482,186,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 23.1% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,739,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $247,698,000 after buying an additional 888,798 shares during the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 131.4% during the first quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 3,392,001 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $177,266,000 after buying an additional 1,926,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 10.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,973,136 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $103,118,000 after buying an additional 178,843 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation is a life sciences company that develops and supplies research and diagnostic products for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, academic, clinical and other laboratory customers. The company supports biological research, drug discovery and development, and diagnostic testing through a portfolio of reagents, instruments and analytical technologies.

Its products include proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, flow cytometry reagents, molecular biology tools and cell culture materials.

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