Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Contravisory Investment Management increased its Bio-Techne stake by 1,189.8% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 16,148 shares worth about $844,000.
• Bio-Techne is in deal mode: Merck KGaA agreed to acquire the company for $73 per share in cash, a premium that pushed the stock up sharply and likely keeps it near the offer price.
• The company also reported mixed recent results, with quarterly earnings and revenue both slightly below analyst expectations, while analysts currently rate the stock a moderate buy with a consensus target of $65.71.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 1,189.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,148 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 14,896 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 12.0% in 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 last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,356 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 3,814 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 506.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 673 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,085.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 82.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Bio-Techne

Here are the key news stories impacting Bio-Techne this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA agreed to buy Bio-Techne for $73 per share in cash, giving shareholders a clear exit value and likely driving the stock toward the deal price. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Agrees to Acquire Bio-Techne
• Positive Sentiment: The offer represents a sizable premium to Bio-Techne’s recent share price, which typically boosts takeover-target stocks as investors price in deal completion. Germany's Merck to buy Bio-Techne for $73 per share
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced shareholder investigations into whether Bio-Techne’s board secured a fair price, which could create legal noise but does not change the announced deal terms. Shareholder Alert: Ademi LLP investigates whether Bio-Techne Corporation is obtaining a Fair Price for Public Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so the move appears driven more by the takeover announcement than by short covering. Bio-Techne Surges on $73-Per-Share Cash Takeover Agreement

Bio-Techne Trading Up 20.1%

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $70.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 102.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.37. The business's 50 day moving average is $52.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Bio-Techne Corp has a 52 week low of $43.19 and a 52 week high of $72.16.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The firm had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Bio-Techne's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TECH shares. Leerink Partners set a $73.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. William Blair downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bio-Techne from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore set a $50.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.71.

Bio-Techne 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.

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