Start here if you're new
what it is
Qiagen sells tools that pull DNA, RNA, and proteins out of samples so labs can test them.
how it gets paid
Last year Qiagen N.V made $2.0B in revenue. Sample technologies was the main engine at $1.1B, or 55% of sales.
what just happened
Q4 EPS landed at $0.62, exactly matching estimates.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
25/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
22.0x trailing p/e — priced about right
0.5% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
13.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 56/100 — below average
What they do
Qiagen sells tools that pull DNA, RNA, and proteins out of samples so labs can test them.
Qiagen sells sample tech that collects DNA, RNA, and proteins, then assay tech that finds the target. That puts it in 3 customer groups: academic research, pharma and biotech, and applied testing. If your lab already runs the workflow, swapping it means revalidating the test, not just changing a box, and the company already sits on $2.0B of annual revenue.
How they make money
$2.0B
annual revenue
Sample technologies
$1.1B
+5.0%
Assay technologies
$0.7B
+6.0%
Bioinformatics and other
$0.2B
+8.0%
The products that matter
molecular testing tools and diagnostics
Life Science Tools & Diagnostics
$2.0B revenue · +4.2% growth
it is the whole business as shown here: $2.0B of revenue growing 4.2% with enough margin to keep 24.4 cents of every dollar.
core business
single-cell analysis platform
Parse Biosciences
$225M deal · $40M 2026 revenue add
qiagen paid $225M in cash plus milestones for Parse. management expects about $40M of 2026 revenue and a $0.04 EPS drag before the deal turns accretive by 2028.
integration bet
Key numbers
$64
target price
That is $9.78 above $54.22, or 18% upside.
22.0x
trailing p/e
You pay 22 dollars for each trailing dollar of earnings. For a 4.9% operating margin, that is not cheap.
13.0%
return on capital
Qiagen gets 13 cents back for each dollar put in the business. That is decent, not dazzling.
0.5%
dividend yield
You get 50 cents a year for every $100 you own. This is a stock for the story, not the payout.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 85 / 100
- long-term debt $1.6B (13% of capital)
- net profit margin 24.5% — keeps 24 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 16% — $0.16 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in QGEN 3 years ago → it's now worth $10,890.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Q4 EPS landed at $0.62, exactly matching estimates.
The company said Q4 2025 exceeded outlook, and gross margin held at 48.9%. Revenue in this packet is not broken out for the quarter, so the clean read is stable profit, not a blowout.
$2.0B
revenue
$0.62
eps
48.9%
gross margin
eps surprise
The $0.62 EPS print mattered because it matched the $0.62 estimate, so nobody got a shock.
-
qiagen stock recently surged to a four-year high on rumors of a potential sale.it seems the maker of assays and medical technology is mulling strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.
-
no official word has been made as of yet.
-
meanwhile, a key acquisition was just completed.in december, qiagen purchased parse biosciences, a provider of single-cell analysis, for $225 million in cash, plus potential milestone payments.
-
this should help expand qiagen’s sample technologies portfolio.it should also bolster the company’s position in the fastgrowing single-cell testing area of clinical research, and permit ai-based growth opportunities. parse stands to add $40 million to revenues in 2026, but dilute profits by $0.04/share, and be accretive by 2028.
-
top- and bottom-line gains were likely healthy last year.third-quarter results were solid, with core sales driven by diagnostics, namely quantiferon, after converting from a traditional skin to a blood-based test for tuberculosis (tb), and qiastat-dx, which saw strong demand for instruments and test panels. the sample technologies unit also edged up, on higher sales of automated kits and certain instruments, despite cautious customer spending.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
QIAGEN's risk is not some vague macro cloud. it is much more specific: Parse has to justify the price, core demand has to stay intact, and rumor support can disappear faster than operating support.
med
Parse has to earn its keep
qiagen spent $225M in cash plus milestones on Parse and expects only about $40M of 2026 revenue from the deal. that is not fatal. it is also not self-justifying on day one.
2026 EPS is expected to take a $0.04 hit before the deal becomes accretive by 2028.
med
customer budgets still matter
management already flagged cautious customer spending in parts of the sample technologies business. when labs delay instrument purchases, the rest of the workflow usually does not become easier to sell.
this is a direct threat to the 4.2% growth rate the business just posted on $2.0B of revenue.
med
rumor-driven valuation can unwind fast
the stock hit a four-year high on sale chatter, but the company has not confirmed a strategic review. if the deal narrative fades, the market goes back to judging a 22.0x earnings multiple against ordinary execution.
in plain english: some of the recent enthusiasm may be about who buys QIAGEN, not what QIAGEN earns.
a $225M acquisition expected to add $40M of 2026 revenue and dilute EPS by $0.04 is manageable if integration works. if it slips, the stock loses both earnings support and story support at the same time.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
2026 EPS versus the $2.60 estimate
the stock is assuming earnings move up from $2.47 to $2.60 even with Parse diluting EPS by $0.04. if that number slips, the multiple stops looking reasonable.
risk
Parse integration updates
watch whether management keeps repeating the same three numbers — $225M paid, $40M 2026 revenue, $0.04 dilution — or starts walking any of them back.
trend
quantiferon and qiastat-dx demand
diagnostics sounded like the healthier part of the business. if those products keep carrying growth while customer spending stays cautious elsewhere, the mix improves.
calendar
any official word on strategic alternatives
right now, sale speculation is market chatter rather than company guidance. the next formal comment from management matters more than another rumor cycle.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts see a stock acting normal, not one with a strong upside signal.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — you are not buying a bunker stock, but this is not a biotech coin flip either.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is not screaming breakout or breakdown. it looks like a stock waiting for a cleaner story.
earnings predictability
25 / 100
that is low. translation: quarterly earnings have been noisy enough that you should not treat estimates as promises.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 2 consecutive quarters — 177 buyers vs. 146 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.1B shares. net buying for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$45
$83
$54
current price
$64
target midpoint · +18% from current · 3-5yr high: $80 (+50% · 11% ann'l return)
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