Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Price Target Cut to $48.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) had its price objective cut by UBS Group from $50.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on QGEN. HSBC downgraded Qiagen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.64 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Qiagen to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $52.50 price objective (up from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.84.

Qiagen Price Performance

Shares of QGEN opened at $41.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 115.09, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36. Qiagen has a twelve month low of $40.15 and a twelve month high of $49.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.25.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 13.97%. As a group, research analysts expect that Qiagen will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qiagen

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Qiagen by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,250,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,386,000 after acquiring an additional 9,293,040 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Qiagen by 170.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,849,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,594 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Qiagen by 62.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,574,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,329,000 after buying an additional 991,325 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in Qiagen by 10,610.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 649,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,606,000 after buying an additional 643,627 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Qiagen by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,604,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,096,000 after buying an additional 424,937 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.