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QIAGEN (QGEN) Buys OmicSoft, Expands Bioinformatics Suite

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Global assay technologies major, QIAGEN N.V. (QGEN - Free Report) recently announced the acquisition of Cary, NC-based OmicSoft Corporation. The deal will provide QIAGEN access to OmicSoft’s powerful multi-omics data management infrastructure solutions as well as ‘omics’ data bank. The deal will also complement QIAGEN’s bioinformatics portfolio that offers valuable observations into complex biological data.

QIAGEN’s bioinformatics portfolio offers industry-leading applications for analysis, comparison, interpretation and reporting of biological data. This portfolio of tools addresses the bottleneck of understanding raw data with innovative applications based on cutting-edge bioinformatics.

OmicSoft offers a portfolio of solutions that collect, curate and standardize massive amounts of public research data to help customers access findings through a single multi-omics platform. Additionally, the acquired company brings scalable and flexible software architecture solutions that will help expand QIAGEN’s bioinformatics offerings.

Through the addition of OmicSoft, QIAGEN will now offer solutions to meet the full spectrum of data management and interpretation needs. These solutions, which integrate enterprise access and cloud-based resources, are useful in addressing the growing need of researchers in discovery and translational research to manage, compare and share the massive volumes of data on DNA, RNA and other biological variables generated with next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies.

We believe the company’s decision to acquire OmicSoft is a strategic fit, taking into consideration the huge growth prospects of bioinformatics globally. According to a MarketsandMarkets report, the global bioinformatics market is projected to reach a worth of $16.18 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 21.1%. Lack of well-defined standards and common data formats for integration of data, shortage of skilled bioinformatics professionals, and lack of adequate user-friendly tools are the major factors restricting growth in this market. QIAGEN is thus trying to fill the void by expanding its foothold in the market.

Share Price Movement

In the last six months, QIAGEN has been trading above the Zacks categorized Medical-Biomed/Genetics industry. The stock has generated a return of 30.3%, way better than the 2.8% decline of the broader market. While we currently await QIAGEN’s fourth-quarter report, its promising third-quarter performance contributed to the company’s rally.

Meanwhile management is emphasizing on long-term growth through product launches and strategic alliances. Recently, the company partnered with lab informatics company Genohm to empower GeneReader NGS System users with seamless data management by integrating the NGS workflow with their laboratory information management systems (LIMS). The company has also entered into a new collaboration with 10x Genomics to develop and market NGS and single-cell biology analysis workflows and informatics solutions. We expect the latest buyout to bolster QIAGEN’s growth in the near term.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

QIAGEN carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked medical stocks are ICU Medical Inc. (ICUI - Free Report) , Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN - Free Report) and NanoString Technologies, Inc. . ICU Medical sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while NanoString Technologies and Align Technology carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.  

ICU Medical gained 36.5% over the last one year compared to the S&P 500’s 17.9%. The company has an impressive long-term earnings growth of 20.5% for the next five years compared to the industry average.

NanoString Technologies surged 81.6% over the past one year, better than the S&P 500. It has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 6.9%. 

Align Technology rallied 55.4% in the past one year, way better than the S&P 500. It has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 23%.

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