Piper Jaffray Maintains a Neutral Rating on Qiagen (QGEN) Following Expanded Channel Checks
Piper Jaffray maintains a Neutral rating and $24.00 price target on Qiagen NV (NASDAQ: QGEN) following expanded channel checks. Analyst William Quirk says that the latest checks did not uncover additional transitions from Qiagen to alternative HPV platforms, and views this as a sighn that shares are stabilizing.
Quirk commented, "We recently completed an expanded round of HPV channel checks with our diligence suggesting a steady 0.9% sequential domestic test volume growth. Importantly, our latest checks did not uncover additional transitions from Qiagen to alternative HPV platforms (e.g., HOLX, Roche) for the second quarter in a row. We continue to view this as a sign of stabilizing domestic Qiagen HPV share. For 2Q15, we are adjusting our estimates for FX as well as expectations for stronger consumable growth, increasing our revenue estimates by $8.5M, while EPS increases by a penny. Our revenue is now $1.6M above consensus while EPS is in line. We are encouraged with the implied sequential domestic HPV share stabilization and believe ongoing stability will allow for a more pronounced contribution from QGEN's growth drivers exiting 2015 (e.g., QuantiFERON). QGEN shares currently trade at 21x our FY16 EPS, just above our 19x PT multiple, keeping us Neutral."
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Shares of Qiagen NV closed at $26.23 yesterday.