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

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,510,000 shares, a decline of 14.0% from the November 30th total of 4,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 902,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.00.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Bio-Techne stock opened at $72.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.24. The stock has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 4.56 and a quick ratio of 3.26. Bio-Techne has a 1-year low of $61.16 and a 1-year high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The company had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Bio-Techne will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 922.5% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.