SIH Partners LLLP Makes New Investment in Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)

SIH Partners LLLP bought a new position in Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 42,821 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,907,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Qiagen by 8,074.0% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 31,817,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,416,844,000 after buying an additional 32,216,761 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Qiagen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,529,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Qiagen by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 25,319,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,127,470,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202,040 shares during the period. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in shares of Qiagen in the fourth quarter worth $53,991,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 170.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,849,004 shares of the company's stock worth $84,259,000 after buying an additional 1,165,594 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on QGEN shares. Baird R W lowered shares of Qiagen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $46.67 price objective (down previously from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Qiagen from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group cut their price target on Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Qiagen from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.83.

Qiagen Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:QGEN traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.79. 298,836 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,136,160. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a current ratio of 3.61. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.70. Qiagen has a 12 month low of $37.63 and a 12 month high of $49.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 119.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.62.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.23%. Equities research analysts expect that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.