QIAGEN N.V. QGEN has announced plans to move its QIAstat-Dx operations to a new site in Esplugues de Llobregat as part of a multi-year investment to strengthen this business. Slated to open in early 2026, the new site builds on the long-standing presence of the company in the Barcelona area and will cover the entire value chain for the QIAstat-Dx system.

The site will include teams such as Research & Development (R&D), Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs. Additionally, it will serve as a center of excellence for R&D in microfluidics, as well as system and assay development.

QGEN Stock’s Likely Trend Following the News

Prior to the announcement yesterday, QIAGEN shares finished at $43.75 in Wednesday’s trading session, up by 1.2%. The QIAstat-Dx continues to grow at a dynamic pace with solid gains in both consumables and instrument sales. Accordingly, we expect market sentiment toward QGEN stock to remain positive surrounding this news.

QIAGEN has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion. The company’s earnings yield of 4.96% compares favorably to the industry average of -25.96% yield. In the trailing four quarters, it delivered an average earnings surprise of 3.5%.  

Importance of QIAGEN’s New Facility

The Esplugues de Llobregrat site will enable QIAGEN to advance diagnostic capabilities in infectious diseases and beyond, helping to meet the growing demand for rapid diagnostics in diverse healthcare settings, from hospitals and clinics to decentralized testing points. The site will span 8,000 square meters and include offices, manufacturing lines, clean rooms, laboratories and logistics areas. The base building of the new facility has received LEED Platinum Certification, the highest standard in energy-efficient and environmentally responsible building design. The fit-out of the new facility will also meet this high standard and will be equipped with digitalized production lines.

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According to the company, Barcelona provides an ideal location for this expansion, combining access to scientific talent with a robust ecosystem that includes universities, research institutions, start-ups, and well-established pharma and life science companies. QIAGEN can also build on the local expertise in the QIAstat-Dx technology, which was originally developed by a start-up from Barcelona and acquired by the company in 2018.

Meanwhile, QIAstat-Dx is also being developed for use in precision medicine, in particular to support the expansion of recent partnerships announced with Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca.

Industry Prospects Favor QIAGEN

Per a research report, the global pathogen detection market was valued at $4.9 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 8% through 2030. Major factors driving the growth of this market are growth in the R&D activities in diagnostic industries as well as innovations in rapid pathogen detection.

Latest Updates Within QGEN

The company has also launched two new tools for designing and ordering custom solutions that can be used to support microbial analysis of bacterial, fungal and viral targets. These new tools enable researchers to customize their assays and panels for use on the QIAcuity digital PCR system as well as on any third-party next-generation sequencing (NGS) system.

QGEN Stock Price Performance

In the past year, QGEN shares have gained 3.2% compared to the industry’s 2.9% growth.

QGEN’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

QIAGEN currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Penumbra PEN, Haemonetics HAE and Globus Medical GMED, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Penumbra’s shares have risen 7.8% in the past year. Estimates for the company’s 2024 earnings per share have jumped 8.1% to $2.79 in the past 30 days. PEN’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 10.54%. In the last reported quarter, it posted an earnings surprise of 23.19%.

Estimates for Haemonetics’ fiscal 2025 earnings per share have jumped 0.4% to $4.59 in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have rallied 8.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 21.2%. HAE’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, the average surprise being 2.82%. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 2.75%.

Estimates for Globus Medical’s 2024 earnings per share have increased 3.9% to $2.95 in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have surged 90.3% in the past year compared with the industry’s 15.1% rise. GMED’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 17.65%. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 27.69%.

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