Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Bio-Techne Put Options (NASDAQ:TECH)

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 10,003 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 454% compared to the average daily volume of 1,804 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on TECH shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price objective on Bio-Techne and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $72.00 price objective on Bio-Techne and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TECH. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 109.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 453 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH opened at $55.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 4.54 and a quick ratio of 3.08. The firm has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of 108.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.49. Bio-Techne has a 1 year low of $46.01 and a 1 year high of $72.16.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $295.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.20 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 6.67%.Bio-Techne’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 16th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 62.75%.

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.