HBK Investments L P Buys New Shares in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• HBK Investments acquired 6.825 million Bio-Techne shares worth approximately $482.2 million, giving it a 4.35% stake and making Bio-Techne one of its largest portfolio holdings.
• Analysts largely rate the stock “Hold”, with 15 holds and two buys and a consensus price target of $68.92, below its reported trading price of $72.33.
• Bio-Techne reported quarterly revenue of $321.2 million, ahead of estimates, while earnings matched expectations at $0.52 per share; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.65.

HBK Investments L P purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,825,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $482,186,000. Bio-Techne accounts for about 4.7% of HBK Investments L P's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. HBK Investments L P owned approximately 4.35% of Bio-Techne at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,021,128 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,364,000 after buying an additional 79,979 shares during the period. S&CO Inc. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,412,000. P Schoenfeld Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,592,250. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,488,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Bio-Techne by 10.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,973,136 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $103,118,000 after acquiring an additional 178,843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TECH shares. Leerink Partners set a $73.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $49.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.92.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 0.0%

TECH stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.33. 3,650,077 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,345,552. The company has a current ratio of 4.55, a quick ratio of 3.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Bio-Techne Corp has a 12-month low of $43.19 and a 12-month high of $72.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Bio-Techne Increases Dividend

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

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation NASDAQ: TECH is a global life sciences company that develops and supplies research, diagnostic and bioprocessing products. Its portfolio includes proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, molecular biology reagents, cell and gene therapy tools, and instruments used by academic, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic laboratories.

The company operates through brands including R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics. Its products support applications such as protein analysis, spatial biology, single-cell research, biomarker discovery, drug development and the manufacture of cell and gene therapies.

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