Should You Continue to Retain Bio-Techne Stock in Your Portfolio?

Bio-Techne TECH is making notable strides in its four growth verticals, which are poised to help it grow in the upcoming quarters. The company is now pursuing clinical diagnostic opportunities on the Ella platform after achieving the ISO 13485 certification. Acquisitions have continued to play an important role in Bio-Techne’s efforts to expand its portfolio and enter adjacent markets. However, adverse macroeconomic impacts and intense rivalry raise concerns for its operations.In the past year, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have rallied 15.4%, outperforming the industry’s 0.9% growth. The S&P 500 composite grew 32.4% in the same time frame.The renowned life sciences company has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion. TECH’s earnings surpassed estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed on two occasions, delivering an average surprise of 1.55%. Let’s delve deeper.Tailwinds for TECHThe Success of Four Growth Verticals: The first growth vertical is the Proteomics Analytical Instrumentation franchise, marketed under the ProteinSimple brand, which offers lab productivity tools for budget-constrained customers. Bio-Techne reported mid-single-digit growth for this vertical in fiscal 2024, and the same momentum continued in the fiscal first quarter, led by the SimplePlex and SimpleWestern franchise called Leo. The second vertical, Cell and Gene Therapy, led by the company’s quality GMP protein products, is also growing well from healthy biotech funding levels and significant customer additions.Third on the list is the Diagnostics and Spatial Biology vertical, where the company is witnessing solid growth despite the budget reset by pharma customers. The newly added RNAscope assays on COMET are showing positive responses. Lastly, the Molecular Diagnostics growth vertical continues to perform at a very high level, with nearly 40% growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 in the ExoDx prostate test and the Asuragen kit business.Ella Garners Promising Opportunities: Following the recent ISO 13485 certification, the company has started to successfully pursue clinical diagnostic opportunities on the Ella automated multiplexing immunoassay instrument platform. This has opened up a large potential end market for this highly sensitive, fast and easy-to-use multiplexing immunoassay instrument. In this regard, the partnership with Novomol-Dx should be mentioned. According to Bio-Techne, Ella is quickly becoming the go-to platform for cell and gene therapy customers for viral titer and release testing. Ella is also seeing rapid adoption among CROs looking for high reproducibility paired with high sensitivity in an easy-to-use, fully automated immunoassay platform.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchExpansion Through Strategic Acquisitions: In recent times, the company has made multiple acquisitions that have expanded the product offerings and geographic footprint of both operating segments. Following the completion of the Lunaphore acquisition in fiscal 2024, TECH’s initiative to scale up Lunaphore’s instrument production capacity is on track to meet the current and future platform demand.The company also completed a 19.9% investment in Wilson Wolf in fiscal year 2023 and currently plans to acquire the remaining ownership in Wilson Wolf by the end of calendar year 2027. While progressing in this line, during the fiscal first quarter, the company announced the launch of its ProPak GMP Cytokines, which are optimized for use in the Wilson WolfG-Rex bioreactor.Factors Weighing on TECHChoppy Macro Environment: The challenging macroeconomic scenario, specifically in the Asia Pacific and Europe, is driving the higher-than-anticipated rise in raw materials and labor costs. These could also result in broader economic impacts, affecting the company’s business through 2024.Competitive Landscape: Based on the range of products and services Bio-Techne sells, the company encounters a wide variety of competitors, including many large, global companies or divisions of such companies with substantial capabilities and resources and several smaller, niche competitors with specialized product offerings. Consolidation trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics industries have also created fewer customer accounts and concentrated purchasing decisions for some customers, resulting in increased pricing pressure on Bio-Techne.TECH Stock Estimate TrendIn the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s fiscal 2025 earnings has moved down 6 cents to $1.92.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 revenues is pegged at $1.22 billion, suggesting a 5.6% rise from the year-ago reported number.Top MedTech StocksSome better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Haemonetics HAE, Boston Scientific BSX and Penumbra PEN.Haemonetics has an earnings yield of 5.41% compared with the industry’s 1.75%. Haemonetics’ earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 2.82%. Its shares have risen 8.9% compared with the industry’s 21.2% growth in the past year.HAE carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Boston Scientific, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has a long-term estimated earnings growth rate of 13.8%. Shares of the company have surged 63.4% compared with the industry’s 23.1% growth. BSX’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 8.29%.Penumbra, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an estimated earnings growth rate of 35.3% for 2024 compared with the industry’s 12.8%. Shares of Penumbra have risen 7.8% compared with the industry’s 15.1% growth over the past year. PEN’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, the average surprise being 10.54%.Must-See: Solar Stocks Poised to SkyrocketThe solar industry stands to bounce back as tech companies and the economy transition away from fossil fuels to power the AI boom.Trillions of dollars will be invested in clean energy over the coming years – and analysts predict solar will account for 80% of the renewable energy expansion. This creates an outsized opportunity to profit in the near-term and for years to come. But you have to pick the right stocks to get into.Discover Zacks’ hottest solar stock recommendation FREE.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX): Free Stock Analysis Report Haemonetics Corporation (HAE): Free Stock Analysis Report Bio-Techne Corp (TECH): Free Stock Analysis Report Penumbra, Inc. (PEN): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks