Thursday, November 11, 2010

Qiagen Hopes To Ride MDx

Sometimes being the best does not make a stock a success. Qiagen (Nasdaq: QGEN) is an acknowledged leader in sample prep in both clinical and research applications, and it has built a solid franchise in clinical diagnostics. None of that makes the company immune to economic reality, though, and weaker patient visit counts have sapped some of its strength.

Another Sluggish Healthcare Quarter
Reporting on a medical technology company having sluggish performance is getting a bit old hat, but it is nevertheless true. Qiagen saw revenue rise almost 6% (about 8% organically when excluding swine flu-related business), with weak results in academia offset by strength in the molecular diagnostics (MDx) business. Profitability was more of a mixed outcome, however. Gross margin declined more than a full point, while operating income fell about 5% and operating margin dropped more than 300 basis points. If there is good news in this result, it is that the company bumped up its R&D spending by about 16%. 



Please follow this link for the complete article:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Qiagen-Hopes-To-Ride-MDx-QGEN-GPRO-BDX-HOLX-ABT-LIFE-SIAL1111.aspx

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Stephen,

Your article on Qiagen is very interesting...although I completely agree with your comments on how Qiagen built a strong brand within the sample prep market, I beg to differ on your comments towards the company having strong customer service. Personally having strong experience with Qiagen and it's products, the one common complaint of many Qiagen users is the lack of attention and assistance that is given by their customer service and sales force.

Stephen Simpson said...

Christopher,

Fair enough. I was thinking more of the fact that they install (and refill) those cabinets ... but come to think of it, that could be more about serving themselves than the customer.

ss