QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $30.00 price target on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 2.3%

QDEL stock opened at $23.61 on Tuesday. QuidelOrtho has a fifty-two week low of $19.50 and a fifty-two week high of $42.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.42 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Insider Transactions at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, Director Matthew Strobeck bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.96 per share, with a total value of $239,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,489. The trade was a 56.26% 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 10,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.59 per share, for a total transaction of $248,638.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,073 shares in the company, valued at $945,322.07. The trade was a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 29,800 shares of company stock valued at $723,823. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in QuidelOrtho by 98.6% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 463,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,642,000 after buying an additional 229,938 shares during the period. Ballast Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 217.7% during the third quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP now owns 80,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after buying an additional 54,829 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 34.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 173,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,994,000 after acquiring an additional 44,242 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,625,000. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. lifted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 27.8% in the second quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 466,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,430,000 after buying an additional 101,423 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Company Profile

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.