Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Downgraded by Robert W. Baird to Neutral

Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. Robert W. Baird currently has $42.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $52.00.

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

Qiagen Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:QGEN opened at $39.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a PE ratio of 109.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.10. Qiagen has a 12-month low of $39.02 and a 12-month high of $49.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Qiagen

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Qiagen in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 152.5% in 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Qiagen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 148.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.