Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Break Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Bio-Techne shares broke above their 200-day moving average, reaching $72.64 versus the $64.31 average, on volume of roughly 3.5 million shares.
• Analysts remain cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from MarketBeat, with a $68.92 average price target, below its recent trading level.
• The company met quarterly EPS expectations at $0.52 and exceeded revenue estimates with $321.19 million, while institutional investors own approximately 98.95% of outstanding shares.

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $64.31 and traded as high as $72.64. Bio-Techne shares last traded at $72.64, with a volume of 3,497,684 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partners set a $73.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Stephens set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Evercore lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.92.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 63.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 3.35 and a current ratio of 4.55.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $321.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.63 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 14.97%. The company's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TECH. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $990,924,000. HBK Investments L P acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter valued at $482,186,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,739,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $247,698,000 after purchasing an additional 888,798 shares during the period. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 131.4% in the 1st quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 3,392,001 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $177,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,926,066 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2,426.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,827,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,095,000 after buying an additional 1,754,926 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation is a life sciences company that develops and supplies research and diagnostic products for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, academic, clinical and other laboratory customers. The company supports biological research, drug discovery and development, and diagnostic testing through a portfolio of reagents, instruments and analytical technologies.

Its products include proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, flow cytometry reagents, molecular biology tools and cell culture materials.

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