UPDATE: JMP Securities Initiates Coverage on Qiagen NV on Multiple Positive Factors

In a report published Wednesday, JMP Securities analyst J.T. Haresco initiated coverage on

with a Market Outperform rating and $30.00 price target. In the report, JMP Securities noted, “We are initiating coverage of Qiagen with a Market Outperform rating and $30 price target (23x 2015 EPS of $1.28). We like QGEN shares because: 1) we believe HPV headwinds are priced in (HPV is ~14% of revenue); 2) the company's NGS-bioinformatics efforts to address workflow are underappreciated, in our view; 3) the company could be well positioned to be a fast follower in the panel-based MDx space, in our opinion; and 4) shares are trading at a discount to peers (1.4x PEG vs. the peer group average of 2.1x).” Qiagen NV closed on Tuesday at $22.50.