Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Shares Gap Down to $42.21

Shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.21, but opened at $41.33. Qiagen shares last traded at $41.50, with a volume of 101,620 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Qiagen in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Qiagen from $61.86 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Qiagen from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Qiagen from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $51.55 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Qiagen from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $49.48 to $51.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.69.

Qiagen Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.71.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. The firm had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $500.77 million. Qiagen had a return on equity of 12.99% and a net margin of 17.37%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qiagen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were given a $1.3196 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th.

Institutional Trading of Qiagen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Qiagen in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Qiagen by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.