QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on QuidelOrtho from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, October 7th.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

NASDAQ QDEL opened at $27.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.64 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.65. 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 has a 12-month low of $19.50 and a 12-month high of $44.68.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $699.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $667.45 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 42.53% and a positive return on equity of 5.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 23,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.34 per share, with a total value of $501,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $630,234.22. This trade represents a 389.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 4,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.06 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 221.86% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 29,390 shares of company stock worth $657,340 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 38,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 1.8% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in QuidelOrtho by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 51,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 30,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

About QuidelOrtho

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.