Alberta Investment Management Corp Makes New Investment in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp has acquired a new position in Bio-Techne Corp, purchasing 10,793 shares valued at approximately $633,000 in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Bio-Techne stock, with a consensus target price of $69.58 and seven analysts rating it as a hold.
• Bio-Techne announced a new $500 million stock repurchase program, indicating confidence in the company's stock value.

Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,793 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $633,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the first quarter worth $1,362,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,940,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 3,534.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 105,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,170,000 after acquiring an additional 102,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.02. The stock had a trading volume of 964,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,036. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.27 and a 200 day moving average of $56.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 3.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.40. Bio-Techne Corp has a 52-week low of $46.01 and a 52-week high of $80.95.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $316.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.14 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Friday, May 30th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Stephens upgraded shares of Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.42.

Bio-Techne Profile

Bio-Techne Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research and clinical diagnostic markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Greater China, rest of Asia-Pacific, and internationally.