Short Interest in Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Drops By 16.9%

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the March 31st total of 3,560,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Qiagen Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE QGEN traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $42.24. 953,718 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,187,453. Qiagen has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $47.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.68.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.55. The firm had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $500.77 million. Qiagen had a return on equity of 12.99% and a net margin of 17.37%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Qiagen will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Qiagen from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Qiagen from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $49.48 to $51.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Qiagen from $61.86 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.69.

Institutional Trading of Qiagen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QGEN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Qiagen in the fourth quarter valued at about $264,322,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Qiagen by 81.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,054,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709,030 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Qiagen by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 24,066,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809,486 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Qiagen by 33,220.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,345,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,450 shares during the period. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in Qiagen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,479,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Qiagen Company Profile

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.