Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Downgraded by Redburn Atlantic to Neutral

Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on QGEN. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.67 price target (down from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W cut Qiagen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $52.50 price target (up from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Qiagen from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.71.

Qiagen Price Performance

Shares of QGEN opened at $38.24 on Friday. Qiagen has a one year low of $37.63 and a one year high of $49.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.27 and its 200-day moving average is $41.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a current ratio of 3.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.62.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 13.92%. Equities analysts anticipate that Qiagen will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qiagen

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Qiagen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Qiagen by 41.5% in 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 during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 152.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Qiagen during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Qiagen by 148.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

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.