UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Stock

Key Points

• UBS raised Qiagen’s price target from $48 to $50 but maintained a neutral rating; the new target implies just 0.02% upside from the then-current share price of $49.99.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly cautious: Qiagen has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $46.34, with 11 analysts rating it Hold and four rating it Buy.
• Qiagen beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $0.65 versus $0.63 expected and revenue of $547.87 million versus $538.61 million expected; revenue increased 2.8% year over year.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 0.02% from the stock's current price.

QGEN has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Qiagen from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $53.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Qiagen in a report on Friday, September 11th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Qiagen in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Monday, October 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.34.

Qiagen Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE QGEN traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.99. 722,745 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,842,978. The business's fifty day moving average is $46.39 and its 200 day moving average is $42.67. Qiagen has a fifty-two week low of $32.53 and a fifty-two week high of $57.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.63.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $547.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.61 million. Qiagen had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 18.19%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Qiagen by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,757,681 shares of the company's stock worth $190,498,000 after acquiring an additional 524,959 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Qiagen by 4.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,183,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,363,000 after purchasing an additional 93,575 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Qiagen by 20.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,665,011 shares of the company's stock worth $66,649,000 after purchasing an additional 286,665 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Qiagen by 21.1% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 716,059 shares of the company's stock worth $28,686,000 after purchasing an additional 124,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Qiagen during the third quarter worth about $21,383,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Qiagen

QIAGEN is a life sciences company that develops technologies used to prepare and analyze biological samples. Its products help researchers and clinicians extract and process DNA, RNA and proteins from samples such as blood, tissue and other biological materials. The company offers laboratory consumables, instruments and software for molecular diagnostics and life sciences research, as well as applications in pharmaceutical research and applied testing. Its portfolio includes sample-preparation kits, molecular testing assays and platforms for PCR, digital PCR and next-generation sequencing.

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