Qiagen Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:QGEN)

Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 30,191 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,518% compared to the average volume of 1,153 call options.

Qiagen Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:QGEN opened at $41.05 on Tuesday. Qiagen has a 12 month low of $32.53 and a 12 month high of $57.81. The firm has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.27 and its 200-day moving average is $42.03.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.54. Qiagen had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $492.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Qiagen will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Qiagen Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 7th. This represents a yield of 90.0%. This is a positive change from Qiagen’s previous annual dividend of $0.26. Qiagen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qiagen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QGEN. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Qiagen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Qiagen by 279.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Qiagen in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Qiagen by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Qiagen from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 target price on Qiagen and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Kepler Capital Markets set a $38.60 price target on Qiagen and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Qiagen from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $45.50 price target on Qiagen and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Qiagen has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.34.

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.