Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Cut to “Hold” at Leerink Partners

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) was downgraded by stock analysts at Leerink Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. William Blair downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.79.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH opened at $70.70 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 102.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.99. Bio-Techne has a 52-week low of $43.19 and a 52-week high of $72.16.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.The firm had revenue of $311.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Bio-Techne by 15,993.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,725 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 7,677 shares in the last quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC now owns 45,905 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,399,000 after buying an additional 10,915 shares during the period. Summitry LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 6,013 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,749,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter valued at about $292,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Bio-Techne

Here are the key news stories impacting Bio-Techne this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA agreed to buy Bio-Techne for $73 per share in cash, giving shareholders a clear exit value and likely driving the stock toward the deal price. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Agrees to Acquire Bio-Techne
• Positive Sentiment: The offer represents a sizable premium to Bio-Techne’s recent share price, which typically boosts takeover-target stocks as investors price in deal completion. Germany’s Merck to buy Bio-Techne for $73 per share
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced shareholder investigations into whether Bio-Techne’s board secured a fair price, which could create legal noise but does not change the announced deal terms. Shareholder Alert: Ademi LLP investigates whether Bio-Techne Corporation is obtaining a Fair Price for Public Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so the move appears driven more by the takeover announcement than by short covering. Bio-Techne Surges on $73-Per-Share Cash Takeover Agreement

About Bio-Techne

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.