Athos Capital Ltd Buys New Stake in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Athos Capital Ltd. purchased 100,000 Bio-Techne shares worth approximately $7.1 million during the second quarter, making the stock 2.5% of its portfolio and its 12th-largest holding.
• Bio-Techne reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, in line with estimates, while revenue of $321.2 million exceeded forecasts and increased 1.3% year over year. The stock opened at $72.32, near its one-year high of $72.62.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.65 per share from $0.08, implying a $2.60 annualized payout and a 3.6% yield. Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $68.92.

Athos Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 100,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $7,065,000. Bio-Techne comprises about 2.5% of Athos Capital Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Athos Capital Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of Bio-Techne as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 506.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 673 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH opened at $72.32 on Monday. 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's 50 day moving average price is $69.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.50. Bio-Techne Corp has a one year low of $43.19 and a one year high of $72.62. The stock has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.89, a P/E/G ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.28.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $321.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.63 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 14.97%.Bio-Techne's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Bio-Techne's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is 27.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens set a $73.00 target price on Bio-Techne and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Evercore lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.92.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TECH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source