UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Stock Price

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays downgraded Qiagen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $55.00 to $53.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Qiagen from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. DZ Bank lowered Qiagen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $40.00 target price on Qiagen in a report on Friday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.34.

Qiagen Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:QGEN traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.92. 1,642,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,745,182. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.65. Qiagen has a 52-week low of $32.53 and a 52-week high of $57.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 2.31.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. Qiagen had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $547.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Qiagen by 2,190.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Qiagen in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Qiagen by 20.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Qiagen

QIAGEN is a life sciences company that develops technologies used to prepare and analyze biological samples. Its products help researchers and clinicians extract and process DNA, RNA and proteins from samples such as blood, tissue and other biological materials. The company offers laboratory consumables, instruments and software for molecular diagnostics and life sciences research, as well as applications in pharmaceutical research and applied testing. Its portfolio includes sample-preparation kits, molecular testing assays and platforms for PCR, digital PCR and next-generation sequencing.