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

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,270,000 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the February 28th total of 5,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Techne

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $434,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 34,735 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,462 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 754,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,295,000 after purchasing an additional 20,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,830 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on TECH. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy 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 $81.25.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of TECH stock traded up $0.74 on Wednesday, hitting $58.09. The stock had a trading volume of 414,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,632. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.21. Bio-Techne has a 1 year low of $56.54 and a 1 year high of $85.57. 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 capitalization of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

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.