Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Price Target Lowered to $70.00 at Citigroup

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) had its price target reduced by analysts at Citigroup from $80.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.91% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

NASDAQ:TECH traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $59.87. 736,647 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,021,745. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne has a 12 month low of $58.99 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.99.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TECH. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 5,295 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after purchasing an additional 16,038 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,188,000. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,986,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.