QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.20.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on QDEL. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research downgraded QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QDEL opened at $33.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.78. QuidelOrtho has a 52 week low of $19.50 and a 52 week high of $46.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.98 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 4,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.06 per share, for a total transaction of $124,306.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,335.20. This trade represents a 221.86% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 23,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.34 per share, for a total transaction of $501,490.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 29,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $630,234.22. This trade represents a 389.52% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 29,390 shares of company stock worth $657,340 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 529.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 5,202 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in QuidelOrtho in the third quarter worth $213,000. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 52.6% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 69,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 24,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newtyn Management LLC increased its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,515,000 after buying an additional 994,332 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.