Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys Shares of 4,572 Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired 4,572 shares of Bio-Techne Corp, valued at around $268,000, during the first quarter.
• Bio-Techne reported a net revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, slightly below analysts' expectations, but earnings exceeded projections at $0.56 per share.
• The company announced a $500 million stock repurchase program, indicating management's belief that the shares are undervalued.

Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,572 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the first quarter worth approximately $69,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH opened at $54.73 on Friday. Bio-Techne Corp has a fifty-two week low of $46.01 and a fifty-two week high of $83.62. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $51.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.39.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 39.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on TECH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.58.

About Bio-Techne

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.

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