Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 734,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,765 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.33% of Qiagen worth $32,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Qiagen in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Qiagen in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Qiagen by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Qiagen by 253.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Qiagen by 9.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Qiagen from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Qiagen from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $49.48 to $51.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Qiagen from $61.86 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Qiagen from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.95.

Qiagen Trading Up 0.9 %

Qiagen stock opened at $42.95 on Wednesday. Qiagen has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $47.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.83. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Qiagen had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 12.59%. The company had revenue of $459.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $453.91 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Qiagen

QIAGEN N.V. offers sample to insight solutions that transform biological materials into molecular insights worldwide. The company provides primary sample technology consumables, such as nucleic stabilization and purification kits for primary sample materials, manual and automated processing for genotyping, gene expression, and viral and bacterial analysis, as well as silica membranes and magnetic bead technologies; secondary sample technology consumables, including kits and components for purification of nucleic acids from secondary sample materials; and instruments for nucleic acid purification and accessories.