Redburn Atlantic Downgrades Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) to Neutral

Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on QGEN. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $46.67 target price (down previously from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W downgraded Qiagen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Qiagen from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $52.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $52.50 price objective (up from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.71.

Qiagen Trading Up 5.2 %

NYSE QGEN traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.83. 1,316,496 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,106,095. The stock has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 113.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.62. Qiagen has a 52 week low of $37.63 and a 52 week high of $49.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.86. The company has a quick ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 3.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Remove Ads

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.23%. Analysts forecast that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Qiagen by 7,684.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 118,161 shares of the company's stock worth $4,744,000 after acquiring an additional 116,643 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qiagen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen in the 4th quarter valued at $95,746,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Qiagen during the fourth quarter worth $221,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Qiagen during the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

About Qiagen

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.