Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Short Interest Down 18.0% in January

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) saw a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,060,000 shares, a decline of 18.0% from the December 31st total of 3,730,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 864,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on QGEN. HSBC cut shares of Qiagen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $48.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Qiagen to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Institutional Trading of Qiagen

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QGEN. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Qiagen by 806.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in shares of Qiagen in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Qiagen by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 853 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Qiagen by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Qiagen in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Qiagen Stock Up 1.7 %

Qiagen stock traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $44.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,024,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,155,726. Qiagen has a fifty-two week low of $40.15 and a fifty-two week high of $49.30. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.81 and its 200-day moving average is $44.37.

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.