Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $68.92 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold”: Fifteen of 17 brokerages rate Bio-Techne neutral, with one sell and one buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target is $68.92.
• Recent quarterly results met expectations: Bio-Techne reported adjusted EPS of $0.52, matching estimates, while revenue of $321.19 million exceeded forecasts and rose 1.3% year over year.
• The company sharply increased its dividend: The quarterly payout rose from $0.08 to $0.65, equating to an annualized dividend of $2.60 and a 3.6% yield.

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.92.

Several research firms have recently commented on TECH. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Evercore lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Argus lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research raised Bio-Techne from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 9th.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Bio-Techne stock opened at $72.66 on Friday. Bio-Techne has a 52-week low of $43.19 and a 52-week high of $72.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 3.35 and a current ratio of 4.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.18, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $72.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.28.

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

Bio-Techne Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This is a positive change from Bio-Techne's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the second quarter worth approximately $71,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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