Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Stock Rating Lowered by Citigroup

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $85.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock. Citigroup's target price indicates a potential upside of 2.43% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stephens lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Bio-Techne from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ TECH traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.98. 696,184 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,112,095. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.88 and a current ratio of 4.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.47. Bio-Techne has a 52 week low of $51.79 and a 52 week high of $89.91. The company has a market cap of $13.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.86, a PEG ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.23.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.03. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 17.59%. The business had revenue of $303.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total value of $800,592.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,097 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,607.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Techne

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth about $38,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 521 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

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.