Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stake in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) by 154.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,178 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,289 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in QuidelOrtho were worth $1,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in QuidelOrtho by 167.4% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 85,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,292,000 after purchasing an additional 53,446 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in QuidelOrtho by 11.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 760,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,557,000 after purchasing an additional 76,866 shares during the period. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in QuidelOrtho during the third quarter worth about $5,156,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in QuidelOrtho by 25.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 5,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in QuidelOrtho by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of QDEL stock opened at $40.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.03. QuidelOrtho Co. has a fifty-two week low of $37.78 and a fifty-two week high of $95.02.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $742.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $796.91 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 0.34% and a positive return on equity of 5.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 2,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.35 per share, for a total transaction of $99,652.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,652.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on QDEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $42.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.60.

About QuidelOrtho

QuidelOrtho Corporation provides diagnostic testing solutions. The company operates through Labs, Transfusion Medicine, Point-of-Care, and Molecular Diagnostics business units. The Labs business unit provides clinical chemistry laboratory instruments and tests that measure target chemicals in bodily fluids for the evaluation of health and the clinical management of patients; immunoassay laboratory instruments and tests, which measure proteins as they act as antigens in the spread of disease, antibodies in the immune response spurred by disease, or markers of proper organ function and health; testing products to detect and monitor disease progression across a spectrum of therapeutic areas; and specialized diagnostic solutions.