Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.71.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $52.50 price objective (up previously from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Baird R W lowered Qiagen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird cut Qiagen from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $42.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $46.67 price objective (down from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Qiagen Stock Performance

Shares of QGEN traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 868,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,080,815. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Qiagen has a 1-year low of $37.63 and a 1-year high of $49.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.15. The stock has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.00, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Institutional Trading of Qiagen

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Qiagen in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Qiagen in the 4th quarter valued at about $95,746,000. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $221,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Qiagen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Qiagen by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 492,302 shares of the company's stock worth $21,922,000 after acquiring an additional 30,989 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.