Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Short Interest Update

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,270,000 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the February 28th total of 5,270,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth 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 valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.09. The company had a trading volume of 414,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,632. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.21. Bio-Techne has a 1 year low of $56.54 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. On average, equities analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.25.

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.