Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,720,000 shares, an increase of 40.4% from the February 28th total of 2,650,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Qiagen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Qiagen by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Qiagen by 152.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Qiagen during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Qiagen by 148.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Qiagen Stock Performance

Qiagen stock traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,586,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,085,619. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 110.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.60 and its 200-day moving average is $42.05. Qiagen has a 12-month low of $37.63 and a 12-month high of $49.30.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 13.92%. Equities research analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QGEN has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Qiagen from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $52.50 price target (up previously from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.67 price objective (down from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Qiagen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.71.

Qiagen Company Profile

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.