Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.69.

Several research firms recently weighed in on QGEN. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Qiagen from $61.86 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Qiagen from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $45.36 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Qiagen from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $49.48 to $51.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th.

Institutional Trading of Qiagen

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QGEN. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Qiagen in the third quarter worth $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Qiagen by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Qiagen in the third quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Qiagen in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new stake in Qiagen in the third quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Qiagen Stock Up 0.8 %

QGEN stock opened at $41.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.38 and its 200 day moving average is $42.73. The stock has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.41. Qiagen has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $47.70.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.55. The company had revenue of $509.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $500.77 million. Qiagen had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qiagen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $1.3196 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th.

Qiagen Company Profile

QIAGEN N.V. offers sample to insight solutions that transform biological materials into molecular insights worldwide. The company provides primary sample technology consumables, such as nucleic stabilization and purification kits for primary sample materials, manual and automated processing for genotyping, gene expression, and viral and bacterial analysis, as well as silica membranes and magnetic bead technologies; secondary sample technology consumables, including kits and components for purification of nucleic acids from secondary sample materials; and instruments for nucleic acid purification and accessories.