Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on TECH. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of Bio-Techne stock traded down $3.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,931,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,255. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.85. Bio-Techne has a 52 week low of $50.34 and a 52 week high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,394 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,223 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.