QGEN vs STE vs A Stock Comparison

Qiagen, Steris and Agilent Technologies Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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QGEN Qiagen N.V.
$50.18 +13.6% 1M -1.5% 1Y
Market cap
$10.93B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.10B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
1 win
STE STERIS plc
$228.50 +9.4% 1M -5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$22.36B
P/E
27.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.04B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins
A Agilent Technologies, Inc.
$177.48 +2.7% 1M +21.1% 1Y
Market cap
$51.25B
P/E
35.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
0.01%
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Agilent Technologies leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Agilent Technologies 6, Steris 5, Qiagen 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionQGENSTEALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.93B $22.36B $51.25B A
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.7x 27.8x 35.6x QGEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.4x 19.8x 27.1x STE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.0% +8.4% +8.6% A
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.5% 13.3% 19.5% A
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.9% 9.3% 13.1% A
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 0.9x 1.1x STE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% STE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -1.5% -5.2% +21.1% A
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.8%/yr -0.4%/yr +2.6%/yr A
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.8% 26.2% 32.4% STE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 75/100 62/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

QGENSTEA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisQGENSTEA
Valuation 76 #56 of 227 83 #39 of 227 58 #97 of 227
Growth 31 #151 of 219 72 #63 of 219 38 #137 of 219
Profitability 93 #16 of 206 87 #28 of 206 91 #20 of 206
Financial Health 63 #89 of 238 62 #91 of 238 55 #107 of 238
Shareholder Returns 94 #9 of 134 73 #37 of 134 71 #40 of 134
Overall 71 75 62
  • QGEN ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • STE ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • A ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodQGENSTEASPY
1 month +13.6%+9.4%+2.7% -0.2%
3 months +18.8%-0.8%+26.3% +3.9%
6 months +47.5%+4.0%+54.5% +8.2%
Year to date +6.0%-9.9%+30.4% +12.9%
1 year -1.5%-5.2%+21.1% +12.3%
3 years +24.5%+9.1%+72.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.6%+3.0%+20.0% +23.3%
5 years -17.4%-1.9%+13.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year -3.8%-0.4%+2.6% +10.9%
10 years +74.3%+241.5%+309.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year +5.7%+13.1%+15.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureQGENSTEASPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.8%26.2%32.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.4%25.6%27.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.470.400.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.04-0.200.65 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.2%-36.5%-39.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.8%-14.9%-0.1% -1.2%
52-week high $55.66$268.65$177.72 $779.14
52-week low $32.63$199.40$110.24 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleQGENSTEA
P/E now vs peer median 26.6xmedian 29.6x 27.7xmedian 29.6x 34.8xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 2.9x 3.7xmedian 2.9x 6.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 17.4x 14.5xmedian 17.4x 27.3xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.0xmedian 22.3x 24.1xmedian 22.3x 39.5xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.3x 3.1xmedian 2.3x 6.8xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.60median 1.04 0.31median 1.04 3.54median 1.04

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsQGENSTEA
Revenue $2.10B $6.04B $7.37B
Gross profit $1.31B $2.68B $3.97B
Operating income $445.43M $1.14B $1.64B
Net income $409.32M $808.10M $1.44B
Free cash flow $991.33M $925.60M $1.27B
R&D $194.67M $115.10M $485.00M
EPS (diluted) $1.87 $8.22 $5.09
Cash & equivalents $768.50M $482.30M $1.76B
Total debt $6.86B $1.89B $3.95B
Shares (diluted) 218.88M 97.90M 283.00M
Enterprise value $6.70B $20.70B $44.14B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricQGENSTEA
P/E 26.6x 27.7x 34.8x
P/FCF 11.0x 24.1x 39.5x
P/Operating cash flow 16.6x 17.3x 31.1x
P/S 5.2x 3.7x 6.8x
P/B 3.2x 3.1x 6.8x
P/Tangible book 3.6x 3.9x 7.8x
EV/EBITDA 18.0x 14.5x 27.3x
EV/EBIT 26.3x 20.8x 31.9x
EV/Revenue 5.6x 3.9x 7.1x
EV/FCF 11.8x 25.6x 41.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.9x 18.4x 32.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.60 0.31 3.54

Growth

14 metrics
MetricQGENSTEA
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.0% 8.4% 8.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.0% 9.0% 1.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1.7% 9.1% 11.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.3% 9.6% 3.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -4.9% 23.1% 13.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 11.2% 5.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 143.9% 24.6% 18.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 89.1% 8.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.5% 25.7% 18.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 89.8% 9.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.0% 1.9% 7.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 16.9% -1.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 2.3% 1.8% 16.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.5% 23.3% -3.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricQGENSTEA
Gross margin 62.2% 44.4% 53.8%
EBITDA margin 31.0% 27.0% 25.9%
Operating margin 21.2% 18.9% 22.2%
Pretax margin 22.0% 18.0% 22.5%
Net margin 19.5% 13.3% 19.5%
FCF margin 47.2% 15.3% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 31.2% 21.3% 21.8%
Return on equity 12.2% 11.2% 19.9%
Return on assets 7.0% 7.5% 10.7%
Return on invested capital 7.9% 9.3% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 8.5% 12.1% 14.6%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.6x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 2.1% 1.0% 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricQGENSTEA
Debt / assets 27.9% 17.6% 28.3%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.3x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 0.9x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 1.7x 2.0x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 43.0% 32.7% 47.3%
Equity / assets 57.0% 67.3% 52.7%
Interest coverage 11.3x 18.8x 15.5x
Current ratio 2.8x 1.9x 2.1x
Quick ratio 2.0x 1.2x 1.4x
Cash ratio 1.4x 0.4x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 4.07 5.26 5.86

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricQGENSTEA
Dividend yield 5.3% 1.1% 0.6%
Net buyback yield 0.6% 1.5% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 5.8% 2.7% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 30.6% 19.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 26.7% 22.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.9% 2.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 9.7% 3.1%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusQGENSTEA
Forward P/E 21.4xFY2026 19.8xFY2026 27.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.35FY2026 $11.56FY2026 $6.54FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -1.3%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.4% +13.2% +0.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.25BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026 $7.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.8%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.8% -0.3% -5.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersQGENSTEA
Held by institutions 0.0% 97.1% 92.6%
Institutions holding 1 829 1,123
Change in shares held, QoQ – +1.1% +3.2%
Institutions buying 0 405 600
Institutions selling 0 300 350
Buyers to sellers – 1.35 1.71

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

QGENSTEA
QGEN 1.00 0.22 0.37
STE 0.22 1.00 0.36
A 0.37 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, QGEN, STE and A?

Agilent Technologies (A) is the largest by market capitalisation: Qiagen (QGEN) $10.93B, Steris (STE) $22.36B, Agilent Technologies (A) $51.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, QGEN, STE and A?

Qiagen (QGEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Qiagen (QGEN) 26.7x, Steris (STE) 27.8x, Agilent Technologies (A) 35.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Steris (STE) is cheapest (Qiagen (QGEN) 21.4x, Steris (STE) 19.8x, Agilent Technologies (A) 27.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Agilent Technologies (A) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Qiagen (QGEN) +3.0%, Steris (STE) +8.4%, Agilent Technologies (A) +8.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Agilent Technologies (A) has the highest net margin (Qiagen (QGEN) 19.5%, Steris (STE) 13.3%, Agilent Technologies (A) 19.5%). On return on invested capital, Agilent Technologies (A) leads (Qiagen (QGEN) 7.9%, Steris (STE) 9.3%, Agilent Technologies (A) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Agilent Technologies (A) returned the most: Qiagen (QGEN) -1.5%, Steris (STE) -5.2%, Agilent Technologies (A) +21.1%. Over five years, Agilent Technologies (A) compounded fastest (Qiagen (QGEN) -3.8%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.4%/yr, Agilent Technologies (A) +2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Steris (STE) has the highest dividend yield: Qiagen (QGEN) 0.00%, Steris (STE) 0.01%, Agilent Technologies (A) 0.01%. Qiagen (QGEN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steris (STE) has been the steadiest (Qiagen (QGEN) 35.8%, Steris (STE) 26.2%, Agilent Technologies (A) 32.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, QGEN, STE and A?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Agilent Technologies (A) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.