Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys Shares of 23,774 QuidelOrtho Corporation $QDEL

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of QDEL. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 2,460.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 46.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Tableaux LLC bought a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho in the second quarter worth $93,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 250.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on QDEL. Zacks Research cut QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $38.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 23,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.34 per share, with a total value of $501,490.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 29,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $630,234.22. The trade was a 389.52% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky bought 4,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.06 per share, with a total value of $124,306.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,335.20. This trade represents a 221.86% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 29,390 shares of company stock valued at $657,340 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

QuidelOrtho Trading Down 4.1%

NASDAQ QDEL opened at $28.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of -1.68 and a beta of 0.58. QuidelOrtho Corporation has a 1-year low of $19.50 and a 1-year high of $49.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.62 and a 200-day moving average of $27.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $699.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $667.45 million. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.75% and a negative net margin of 42.53%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. QuidelOrtho has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.000-2.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

QuidelOrtho Profile

QuidelOrtho is a global diagnostics company formed through the merger of Quidel Corporation and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. The combined entity develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of rapid and high-throughput diagnostic solutions across immunoassay, molecular diagnostics and transfusion medicine. Its offerings span point-of-care platforms for acute care testing as well as large-scale automated systems designed for clinical laboratories and blood banks.

The company’s product range includes rapid antigen and antibody tests for infectious diseases, molecular assays utilizing nucleic acid amplification technology, and integrated immunodiagnostic analyzers.