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

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) saw a notable increase in short interest in November. By November 30th, the total short interest reached 4,080,000 shares, marking a significant rise of 15.6% from 3,530,000 shares reported on November 15th. The current days-to-cover ratio, calculated based on an average daily trading volume of 927,100 shares, stands at 4.4 days.

Institutional Interest in Bio-Techne

Several institutional investors have changed their positions in Bio-Techne recently. State Street Corp increased its holdings by 1.5% during the third quarter, owning 6,395,993 shares worth approximately $511.23 million after purchasing an additional 95,133 shares. Similarly, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake by 8.2% in the second quarter, holding 2,862,260 shares now valued at $205.08 million after acquiring 216,044 additional shares. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake by 3.5% during the second quarter, owning 2,589,799 shares valued at $185.56 million after buying 88,257 shares. Point72 Asset Management L.P. also bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the third quarter, valued at around $89.72 million. Additionally, American Capital Management Inc. raised its stake by 2.5% in the same period, now owning 1,114,393 shares worth approximately $89.07 million. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of Bio-Techne's shares.

Performance of Bio-Techne Stock

On Friday, Bio-Techne's stock price declined by $0.99, reaching $75.69. Trading volume for the day was 487,423 shares, compared to an average volume of 947,043 shares. The company has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 80.52 and a PEG ratio of 5.52. It also has a beta of 1.27, indicating volatility in the market. Bio-Techne's quick ratio is 3.26, while the current ratio is 4.56, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.34 and a 200-day moving average of $74.61. Over the past year, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $61.16 and a high of $85.57.

Earnings Update from Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne released its earnings results on October 30th. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.42, exceeding analysts' consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm's net margin stands at 12.86%, with a return on equity of 12.76%. The revenue for the quarter was $289.46 million, surpassing the analyst projection of $280.22 million. Comparatively, the previous year's earnings during the same quarter were $0.35 per share, reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.5%. Analysts are forecasting that Bio-Techne will have an EPS of 1.68 for the current fiscal year.

Recent Dividend Announcement

The company has also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was distributed on November 22nd. Shareholders on record as of November 11th received a dividend of $0.08. The dividend's ex-dividend date was on November 8th, reflecting an annualized dividend of $0.32, with a yield of 0.42%. Currently, Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 34.04%.

Wall Street's Outlook on Bio-Techne

Several analysts have made recent updates on Bio-Techne's stock. Robert W. Baird increased its target price from $82.00 to $84.00, maintaining an “outperform” rating. StockNews.com elevated its rating for Bio-Techne from “hold” to “buy.” Furthermore, Scotiabank raised its price target from $83.00 to $88.00, also rating the stock as a “sector outperform.” Currently, three analysts rate the stock as a hold, while six others give it a buy rating, leading to a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a price target of $82.00 according to MarketBeat.

About Bio-Techne Corporation

Bio-Techne Corporation, along with its subsidiaries, produces life science reagents, instruments, and services for both research and clinical diagnostic markets across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Greater China, Asia-Pacific and beyond.

Bio-Techne, Short, Investors