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Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Bio-Techne Corporation (TECH) develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research, diagnostics, and bioprocessing markets. With a market cap of $10.9 billion, Bio-Techne operates through Protein Sciences, and Diagnostics & Spatial Biology segments.
The biotech major has underperformed the broader market over the past year. Bio-Techne stock prices declined 10.9% in 2024 and gained 8.1% over the past year, lagging behind the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) surge of 24.1% on a YTD basis and 30.1% over the past 52 weeks.
Narrowing the focus, Bio-Techne has also lagged behind the iShares Biotechnology ETF’s (IBB) marginal dip in 2024 and 13.4% growth over the past year.
Bio-Techne stock price soared 7.5% after the release of its better-than-expected Q1 2025 earnings on Oct. 30. The company reported a notable 4.5% year-over-year growth in net sales to $289.5 million, outpacing Wall Street’s topline expectations by 3.1%. The topline growth was primarily driven by the continued adoption and utilization across the Diagnostics & Spatial Biology (DSS) segment, leading to a staggering 14.3% year-over-year growth in segment revenue, reaching $83.2 million. Meanwhile, Bio-Techne’s adjusted EPS of $0.42 also surpassed analysts’ bottom-line estimates by a large margin, further bolstering investors’ confidence.
Bio-Techne’s underperformance in 2024 is largely attributable to the massive sell-off in biotech and pharma stocks triggered by Trump’s pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which led to over 12% drop in Bio-Techne’s stock prices in the trading sessions from Nov. 14 to Nov. 19.
For the current fiscal year, ending in June, analysts expect Bio-Techne to report a 7% year-over-year growth in adjusted EPS to $1.68. The company has a mixed earnings surprise history. It has surpassed analysts’ EPS estimates in three of the past four quarters while missing on one other occasion.
Bio-Techne stock has a consensus “Strong Buy” rating overall. Out of the 13 analysts covering the stock, 10 recommend “Strong Buy” and three suggest a “Hold” rating.
This configuration has been consistent over the past months.
On Oct. 31, Scotiabank analyst Sung Ji Nam maintained a “Sector Outperform” rating while raising the price target to $88, which suggests a potential upside of 28.1% from current price levels.
The mean price target of $85 represents a premium of 23.7% to current price levels. Meanwhile, the Street-high target of $95 suggests a massive potential upside of 38.2%.
