Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Stock Price Down 10.3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares of Bio‑Techne fell 10.3% intraday to about $52.54 on Thursday, trading well below its 50‑day ($55.38) and 200‑day ($59.99) moving averages and on unusually low volume (207,215 vs. avg. 2.31M).
• Wall Street consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $72.77 (UBS raised its target to $79), reflecting mixed analyst ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Bio‑Techne beat the quarter’s EPS and revenue estimates ($0.46 vs. $0.43; $295.9M vs. $290.2M) but still has a high P/E (~102.6), a modest 0.6% dividend yield, and roughly 99% institutional ownership.

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) shares traded down 10.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $53.25 and last traded at $52.5420. 207,215 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 2,308,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Bio-Techne from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price objective on Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price objective on Bio-Techne and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Bio-Techne from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.77.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.61, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.99.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $295.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $290.20 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 6.67%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,063,939 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $62,379,000 after purchasing an additional 113,634 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 40.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,356 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 3,814 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 506.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 673 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $5,424,000 after purchasing an additional 96,527 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 82.6% during the second quarter. Natixis now owns 24,991 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 11,306 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bio-Techne

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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