Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Given New $76.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $70.00 to $76.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on TECH. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price objective on Bio-Techne and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Argus increased their target price on Bio-Techne from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.77.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 1.4%

TECH opened at $66.78 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.37. The firm has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a PE ratio of 130.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.48. Bio-Techne has a twelve month low of $46.01 and a twelve month high of $75.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 4.54.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $295.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.20 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, February 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 349.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,115,133 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $284,555,000 after buying an additional 3,978,026 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Bio-Techne by 164.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,012,818 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $235,994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,495,328 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Bio-Techne by 7.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,946,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $219,518,000 after acquiring an additional 283,303 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,307,116 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $183,975,000 after purchasing an additional 807,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mairs & Power Inc. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 2,807,409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $156,176,000 after purchasing an additional 91,031 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Company Profile

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and sells high-quality reagents, instruments and services for the research, diagnostic and bioprocessing markets. Its core product offerings include recombinant proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, nucleic acid probes and kits, single-cell analysis solutions and automated protein analysis systems. Flagship brands such as R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics provide researchers and clinicians with reliable tools for cell biology, immunology, proteomics and genomics applications.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne serves customers across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through a combination of direct sales, distributors and strategic partnerships.