Berenberg Ups Qiagen Price Target to Match EQT-led Consortium's Takeover Offer; Hold Rating Kept

12:01 PM EDT, 10/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg raised its price target for Qiagen (QIA.F) to 46.50 euros from 40 euros to match the price of the proposed acquisition by a consortium led by Swedish private equity giant EQT (EQT.ST). "Qiagen has agreed to a recommended all-cash offer of EUR46.50 per share from a consortium led by EQT. That is a 40% premium to the stated 8 July unaffected close and equates to c20x 2027E adjusted EPS (c14x at the unaffected price). ... Overall, we think that shareholders are likely to accept the deal, and we note that the structure is designed to secure it: EQT needs only 50% plus one share, after which the remaining holders can be bought out at the offer price less withholding tax," analysts said Thursday. Meanwhile, the stock's hold rating was left unchanged. The research firm also noted the diagnostics company's "moderate" third-quarter beat, saying it was not "surprising against improving end-markets." Qiagen reported preliminary net sales of $548 million for the quarter, with adjusted diluted EPS of $0.65. "In our view, the modest beat will not materially change investors' assessment of Qiagen's fair value. We will update our model for Q3 when the full results are released on 4 November," analysts noted.