Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,510,000 shares, a decrease of 14.0% from the November 30th total of 4,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 902,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Bio-Techne stock opened at $72.98 on Monday. Bio-Techne has a twelve month low of $61.16 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.29. The company has a current ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 77.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.27.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne 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 issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 34.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 922.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.