Bio-Techne Co. Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) experienced a notable rise in short interest throughout November. By November 30th, the total short interest amounted to 4,080,000 shares, marking a 15.6% increase from 3,530,000 shares recorded on November 15th. Given the average daily trading volume of 927,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio currently stands at 4.4 days.

Institutional Investment Activity in Bio-Techne

Recently, various institutional investors have engaged in buying and selling shares of Bio-Techne. State Street Corp increased its stake in the company by 1.5% during the third quarter, acquiring an additional 95,133 shares. They now hold a total of 6,395,993 shares, valued at approximately $511,232,000. Similarly, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings by 8.2% in the second quarter, completing the purchase of 216,044 additional shares, leading to a total of 2,862,260 shares worth about $205,081,000. Meanwhile, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its ownership by 3.5% during the same quarter, adding 88,257 shares for a total of 2,589,799 shares valued at approximately $185,559,000.

Point72 Asset Management L.P. took a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter with an investment around $89,724,000, while American Capital Management Inc. increased its stake by 2.5%, purchasing an additional 27,508 shares to total 1,114,393 shares worth $89,073,000. Collectively, institutional investors and hedge funds hold an impressive 98.95% of Bio-Techne's stock.

Recent Stock Performance of Bio-Techne

On Friday, Bio-Techne's stock traded down by $0.99, closing at $75.69 with 487,423 shares exchanged, lower than its average trading volume of 947,043 shares. The company boasts a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.52, and a PEG ratio of 5.52, with a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne offers a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.56, while its debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.14. The stock has seen a 50-day moving average price of $73.34 and a 200-day moving average of $74.61. Over the past year, Bio-Techne hit a low of $61.16 and a high of $85.57.

In its latest earnings report on October 30th, Bio-Techne disclosed earnings per share of $0.42 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The company's net margin stood at 12.86%, with a return on equity of 12.76%. Revenue amounted to $289.46 million, exceeding the analyst expectations of $280.22 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 4.5%.

Bio-Techne's Dividend Announcement

On November 22nd, Bio-Techne paid a quarterly dividend to shareholders, having a record date of November 11th. The issued dividend was $0.08, with an ex-dividend date set for November 8th. Annually, this reflects a total dividend of $0.32, yielding a return of 0.42%. Currently, Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 34.04%.

Analyst Rating and Price Forecasts for Bio-Techne

Numerous analysts have given insights regarding Bio-Techne's stock. Robert W. Baird has raised their target price from $82.00 to $84.00 with an "outperform" rating effective October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne's stock rating from "hold" to "buy" on November 12th. Furthermore, Scotiabank increased its target price for the shares from $83.00 to $88.00, also labeling the stock as "sector outperform" on October 31st. Presently, three analysts rate the stock as hold while six recommend buying it, leading to an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target averaging around $82.00.

Understanding Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services aimed at research and clinical diagnostics, operating across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Greater China, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Bio-Techne, Stocks, Investment