Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Trading Down 4.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) were down 4.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $74.45 and last traded at $75.19. Approximately 333,414 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 838,261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.00.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 3.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a PE ratio of 81.10, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.94 and a 200 day moving average of $74.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.56.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 894,352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,082,000 after buying an additional 76,641 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 59.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 32,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 12,234 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter valued at about $172,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 42.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,140 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after buying an additional 4,488 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Company Profile

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.