Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on QGEN. Redburn Atlantic cut Qiagen from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Baird R W cut Qiagen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Qiagen from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.42.

Qiagen Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE QGEN opened at $41.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.75. Qiagen has a 52 week low of $37.63 and a 52 week high of $49.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a current ratio of 3.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 116.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.67.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Qiagen had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company had revenue of $483.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $465.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Qiagen during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Qiagen by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Qiagen by 152.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Qiagen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Qiagen by 148.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qiagen Company Profile

QIAGEN NV is a holding company, which engages in the provision of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. The company sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA, and proteins from blood, tissue, and other materials.