Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $72.81, but opened at $71.33. Bio-Techne shares last traded at $68.40, with a volume of 355,698 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.57.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 2.3 %

The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.03, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.15.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.32%.

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 value of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,724,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at $44,479,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $147,002,000 after acquiring an additional 354,478 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,339,370,000 after purchasing an additional 275,644 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth $20,071,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

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.