Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $58.20 and last traded at $58.47, with a volume of 3067751 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $62.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s 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. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

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.