Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $43.80, but opened at $42.11. Qiagen shares last traded at $42.14, with a volume of 192,178 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on QGEN shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Qiagen to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded Qiagen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.64 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.67 price objective (down from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $52.50 target price (up from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.07.

Qiagen Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.48, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.26.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last posted 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 return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 4.73%. Research analysts expect that Qiagen will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qiagen

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QGEN. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Qiagen by 806.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Qiagen by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen during the third quarter worth $53,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Qiagen by 148.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Qiagen by 83.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the period. 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.