Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Raised to "Buy" at StockNews.com

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.25.

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Bio-Techne Trading Up 5.0 %

NASDAQ TECH traded up $2.46 on Friday, reaching $51.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,854,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,156,700. The stock's 50 day moving average is $62.98 and its 200-day moving average is $70.22. Bio-Techne has a 52 week low of $40.77 and a 52 week high of $85.57. The stock has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.32, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Equities analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TECH. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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.