Analysts Set Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) PT at $71.00

Shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.5714.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $59.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $72.00 price target on Bio-Techne and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH opened at $64.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 131.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.47. Bio-Techne has a 1 year low of $46.01 and a 1 year high of $79.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.81.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company had revenue of $286.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.02 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 13.59%. Bio-Techne’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 349.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,115,133 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $284,555,000 after buying an additional 3,978,026 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 129.8% during the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 5,366,003 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $314,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,030,644 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $98,238,000. Durable Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at $77,658,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 78.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,037,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $113,363,000 after purchasing an additional 894,987 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bio-Techne

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.