Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.83.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on QGEN shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $46.67 price target (down previously from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic cut Qiagen from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Qiagen from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Baird R W cut Qiagen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qiagen

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Qiagen by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,519 shares of the company's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new position in shares of Qiagen during the first quarter worth about $669,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,825 shares of the company's stock worth $716,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Qiagen by 93.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Qiagen during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Qiagen Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE QGEN traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.90. The company had a trading volume of 357,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,567. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.85 and a 200 day moving average of $41.71. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 119.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.62.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.