Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Qiagen has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, with additional analysts maintaining a mix of ratings from neutral to hold.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.60 and a 7.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $533.54 million, matching analysts' expectations.
• Institutional investors own 70% of Qiagen, indicating significant confidence in the company's future performance.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Thursday. Barclays started coverage on Qiagen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Qiagen from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Qiagen from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Qiagen from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.69.

Qiagen Trading Down 0.7%

QGEN opened at $48.02 on Monday. Qiagen has a 12 month low of $37.63 and a 12 month high of $51.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.54.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.60. Qiagen had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 18.30%. The firm had revenue of $533.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $523.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Qiagen's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QGEN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Qiagen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Qiagen by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 66,779 shares of the company's stock worth $2,974,000 after purchasing an additional 16,106 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 93.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,240 shares of the company's stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 30.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,869 shares of the company's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,290 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.