Barclays Begins Coverage on Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)

Stock analysts at Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Barclays's price target indicates a potential upside of 15.51% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Qiagen from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Qiagen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Qiagen from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.30.

Qiagen Stock Down 0.9%

QGEN stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $47.62. 730,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,191,987. The firm's 50-day moving average is $44.06 and its 200-day moving average is $42.51. Qiagen has a 12 month low of $37.63 and a 12 month high of $49.30. The company has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.44, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Qiagen had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 4.68%. The business had revenue of $483.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $465.66 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Qiagen's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QGEN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Qiagen by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 66,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,974,000 after purchasing an additional 16,106 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Qiagen by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Qiagen by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 63,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,807,000 after buying an additional 25,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,297 shares of the company's stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. 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.