Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $40.02, but opened at $41.44. Qiagen shares last traded at $40.31, with a volume of 389,458 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Baird R W cut Qiagen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered Qiagen from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $52.00 to $42.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.67 price objective (down from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $52.50 price objective (up from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.71.

Qiagen Trading Up 0.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a current ratio of 3.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.44.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Qiagen in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Qiagen by 152.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 148.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying 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.