Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $47.50 and last traded at $47.40, with a volume of 135459 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on QGEN. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Qiagen to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC lowered shares of Qiagen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Qiagen Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.37.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qiagen

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qiagen in the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Qiagen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Qiagen by 83.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Qiagen by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Qiagen by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 16,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 4,225 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.