Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Downgraded by Baird R W to “Hold”

Baird R W cut shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on QGEN. UBS Group reduced their target price on Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.67 target price (down previously from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $52.50 target price (up previously from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Qiagen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.71.

Qiagen Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:QGEN opened at $39.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.36. Qiagen has a 1 year low of $39.02 and a 1 year 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.10.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.23%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Qiagen will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Qiagen during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Qiagen during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Qiagen by 148.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.