Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,451,535 shares, a decline of 20.2% from the December 15th total of 6,832,501 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,085,090 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,085,090 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Qiagen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 1,383.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Qiagen by 998.9% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Qiagen by 400.5% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 260.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Qiagen Trading Up 16.3%

NYSE QGEN traded up $7.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $55.35. 13,069,983 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,535,701. The firm has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Qiagen has a 1-year low of $39.61 and a 1-year high of $57.82.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $532.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $525.68 million. Qiagen had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 19.58%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Qiagen will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QGEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered Qiagen from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $57.89 to $52.63 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $57.89 price objective (up from $55.79) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Qiagen in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Qiagen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Qiagen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.84.

About Qiagen

Qiagen NV (NYSE: QGEN) is a global provider of sample and assay technologies designed to enable molecular testing in the fields of molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic research and pharmaceutical development. The company’s solutions span the full workflow of nucleic acid and protein analysis, offering customers standardized kits, instruments and software tools that streamline the preparation, detection and quantification of DNA, RNA and proteins.

The company’s product portfolio includes nucleic acid extraction and purification systems, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagents and instrumentation, digital PCR platforms, next-generation sequencing (NGS) library‐preparation kits and proteomics solutions.