Analysts Set Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Price Target at $50.07

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.07.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on QGEN shares. HSBC cut shares of Qiagen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.64 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $52.50 price target (up previously from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.67 price objective (down previously from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Qiagen to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QGEN. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Qiagen by 3.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,380,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,457,000 after purchasing an additional 90,181 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Qiagen by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,426,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,001,000 after buying an additional 68,415 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in shares of Qiagen by 129.3% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 20,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 11,385 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Qiagen by 24.8% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 3,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 36.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,604,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,096,000 after buying an additional 424,937 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Qiagen Price Performance

QGEN opened at $43.76 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 109.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.26. Qiagen has a 52-week low of $40.15 and a 52-week high of $49.30.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 13.43%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Qiagen Company Profile

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.