Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Bio-Techne has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 18 research firms, with the average 1-year price target at about $68.07.
• Analyst opinions were mixed: William Blair downgraded the stock to market perform, Evercore upgraded it to strong-buy, and Baird raised its price target to $73 while keeping a neutral view.
• The company recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.53 EPS on revenue of $311.42 million, while also paying a small quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.0714.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair cut shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $49.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday.

Trending Headlines about Bio-Techne

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA’s all-cash buyout offer gives Bio-Techne shareholders a clear takeover price and a premium valuation anchor. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Agrees to Acquire Bio-Techne, Strengthening Leadership Position in Fast-Growing Life Sciences Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions were mixed but included an upgrade from Evercore to strong-buy and a price-target increase from Baird to $73, reinforcing the view that the shares were moving toward deal value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for further merger-related volatility, but that activity does not change the takeover terms.
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-law-firm investigations have begun over whether the Merck deal provides a fair price, which could add some headline risk and scrutiny around the transaction. SHAREHOLDER ALERT: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Bio-Techne Corporation NASDAQ: TECH

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TECH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,063,939 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $62,379,000 after acquiring an additional 113,634 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Bio-Techne by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,356 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 3,814 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Bio-Techne by 506.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 673 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,085.7% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 105,418 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,424,000 after acquiring an additional 96,527 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 82.6% during the second quarter. Natixis now owns 24,991 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 11,306 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock opened at $71.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Bio-Techne has a 52 week low of $43.19 and a 52 week high of $72.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of 102.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.09.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The business had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $316.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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