UBS Group Cuts Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Price Target to $48.00

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.22% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on QGEN. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.67 price objective (down from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $52.50 price objective (up from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC lowered 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Qiagen to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.84.

Qiagen Stock Down 3.5 %

Qiagen stock traded down $1.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 353,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,196,722. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Qiagen has a 52-week low of $40.15 and a 52-week high of $49.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.03, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Qiagen by 806.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Qiagen by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Qiagen during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Qiagen by 148.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Qiagen by 83.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

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.