Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $39.08 and last traded at $39.12, with a volume of 84973 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on QGEN. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $46.67 price target (down from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Qiagen from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $52.00 to $42.00 in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W downgraded Qiagen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $52.50 target price (up from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.71.

Qiagen Trading Up 2.5 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.07. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 110.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.36.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 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%. Analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Qiagen

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QGEN. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Qiagen by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in Qiagen by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in Qiagen by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 5,291 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Qiagen by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 25,636 shares of the company's stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Qiagen by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,816 shares of the company's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.