QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.50.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $30.00 target price on QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, February 12th.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of QDEL opened at $16.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.96 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.50. QuidelOrtho has a 52 week low of $15.08 and a 52 week high of $38.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.55.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 41.46% and a positive return on equity of 5.91%. The firm had revenue of $723.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.80 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QuidelOrtho news, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 3,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.66 per share, with a total value of $79,734.20. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,461.40. This trade represents a 48.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 10,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.59 per share, for a total transaction of $248,638.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $945,322.07. This represents a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in QuidelOrtho by 87.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,906,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,604,000 after buying an additional 1,352,503 shares in the last quarter. Newtyn Management LLC increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,515,000 after acquiring an additional 994,332 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 101.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,755,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,134,000 after acquiring an additional 883,077 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,832,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,925,000 after acquiring an additional 819,908 shares during the period. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 222.0% during the 4th quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 833,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,813,000 after acquiring an additional 574,877 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.