Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $43.80, but opened at $42.11. Qiagen shares last traded at $42.14, with a volume of 192,178 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QGEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Qiagen to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $46.67 target price (down previously from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Monday, January 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Qiagen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $47.64 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $52.50 price objective (up from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.78.

Qiagen Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.17. The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.78 and its 200-day moving average is $43.29. The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 111.66, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 4.23%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Qiagen will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QGEN. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Qiagen by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,624 shares of the company's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Qiagen by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,816 shares of the company's stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen in the 4th quarter valued at $151,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,083,509 shares of the company's stock worth $48,249,000 after purchasing an additional 306,374 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Qiagen by 152.5% during 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 during the last quarter. 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.