Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Short Interest Down 14.0% in December

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Bio-Techne Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Bio-Techne stock opened at $72.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne has a twelve month low of $61.16 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $73.42 and its 200 day moving average is $74.29.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released 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. The company had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TECH. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 922.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position 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 worth $49,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 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.