Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Stock Price

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) had its price objective decreased by Citigroup from $80.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.54% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $62.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 62.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne has a 52-week low of $58.98 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $71.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.89.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TECH. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,295 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 16,038 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth about $1,188,000. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC raised its position in Bio-Techne by 100.0% during the third quarter. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,986,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.