Qiagen Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:QGEN)

Key Points

• Qiagen saw unusually high call-options activity: Traders purchased 30,191 call options, about 2,518% above the average volume of 1,153 contracts.
• Shares fell 0.8% to $41.05, while quarterly results met earnings expectations at $0.54 per share; revenue of $492.32 million came in slightly below estimates.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $43.34. Qiagen also increased its annual dividend to $0.35 per share.

Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 30,191 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,518% compared to the average volume of 1,153 call options.

Qiagen Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:QGEN traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $41.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,651,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,442,845. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a current ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.09. Qiagen has a 1 year low of $32.53 and a 1 year high of $57.81.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.54. Qiagen had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $492.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Qiagen will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qiagen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 7th. This represents a yield of 90.0%. This is a boost from Qiagen's previous annual dividend of $0.26. Qiagen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QGEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Qiagen from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $38.00 price objective on Qiagen and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Qiagen from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price target on shares of Qiagen and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.34.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Qiagen by 23.2% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in shares of Qiagen by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,725 shares of the company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,421 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Qiagen by 7.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Qiagen

Qiagen NV NYSE: QGEN is a global provider of sample and assay technologies designed to enable molecular testing in the fields of molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic research and pharmaceutical development. The company's solutions span the full workflow of nucleic acid and protein analysis, offering customers standardized kits, instruments and software tools that streamline the preparation, detection and quantification of DNA, RNA and proteins.

The company's product portfolio includes nucleic acid extraction and purification systems, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagents and instrumentation, digital PCR platforms, next-generation sequencing (NGS) library‐preparation kits and proteomics solutions.

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