Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Coverage Initiated at Evercore ISI

Equities research analysts at Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.85% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on TECH. 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 raised their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock opened at $62.58 on Tuesday. Bio-Techne has a fifty-two week low of $56.60 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.21. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.21, a PEG 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 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%. Analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.