Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Short Interest Update

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, a decrease of 16.9% from the March 31st total of 3,560,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Qiagen Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE QGEN opened at $41.65 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.66. Qiagen has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $47.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. Qiagen had a return on equity of 12.99% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $500.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Qiagen will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on QGEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Qiagen from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Qiagen from $61.86 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Qiagen from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $49.48 to $51.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.69.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qiagen

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Qiagen in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Qiagen in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in Qiagen during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Qiagen during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Qiagen Company Profile

QIAGEN N.V. offers sample to insight solutions that transform biological materials into molecular insights worldwide. The company provides primary sample technology consumables, such as nucleic stabilization and purification kits for primary sample materials, manual and automated processing for genotyping, gene expression, and viral and bacterial analysis, as well as silica membranes and magnetic bead technologies; secondary sample technology consumables, including kits and components for purification of nucleic acids from secondary sample materials; and instruments for nucleic acid purification and accessories.