Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $72.76 and last traded at $72.6910, with a volume of 401 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore cut Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Bio-Techne from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.92.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.55, a quick ratio of 3.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.25.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Bio-Techne’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Techne

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tema ETFs LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 5.4% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 2,818 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Bio-Techne by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 5.1% during the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 3,986 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 4.3% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 4,789 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. 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.