Analysts Set Quidel Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) Target Price at $142.80

Shares of Quidel Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL – Get Rating) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $142.80.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quidel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James upgraded shares of Quidel from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 22nd. Finally, TheStreet lowered Quidel from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 10th.

Shares of NASDAQ QDEL opened at $110.94 on Thursday. Quidel has a fifty-two week low of $88.37 and a fifty-two week high of $180.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.74 and a beta of -0.10.

Quidel (NASDAQ:QDEL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 17th. The company reported $7.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $2.40. Quidel had a net margin of 41.46% and a return on equity of 45.78%. The business had revenue of $636.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.95 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Quidel will post 15.31 EPS for the current year.

In related news, Director Mary Lake Ph D. Polan sold 1,525 shares of Quidel stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total transaction of $173,224.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Quidel in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. New Century Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quidel in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Quidel in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quidel in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Bbva USA increased its stake in Quidel by 695.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bbva USA now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. 85.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Quidel (Get Rating)

Quidel Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets diagnostic testing solutions for applications in infectious diseases, cardiology, thyroid, women's and general health, eye health, gastrointestinal diseases, and toxicology worldwide. It offers Sofia and Sofia 2 fluorescent immunoassay systems; QuickVue, a lateral flow immunoassay products; and InflammaDry and AdenoPlus, a POC products to detect infectious and inflammatory diseases and conditions of the eye.

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