Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Short Interest Up 40.4% in March

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,720,000 shares, an increase of 40.4% from the February 28th total of 2,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Qiagen Trading Down 0.3 %

Qiagen stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,070,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,088,939. The firm has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.44. Qiagen has a 12-month low of $37.63 and a 12-month high of $49.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.61 and a quick ratio of 3.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.04.

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

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of Qiagen

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Qiagen by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 55.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,152 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Qiagen by 3.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 309,781 shares of the company's stock worth $14,149,000 after acquiring an additional 9,437 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Qiagen by 16.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,238,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,895,000 after acquiring an additional 177,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Qiagen by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 218,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,852,000 after purchasing an additional 67,143 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.