QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.50.

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

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

QDEL opened at $16.01 on Thursday. QuidelOrtho has a 52-week low of $15.08 and a 52-week high of $38.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.55.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $723.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.80 million. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.91% and a negative net margin of 41.46%.The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 10,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.59 per share, for a total transaction of $248,638.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 40,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $945,322.07. This trade represents a 35.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 3,370 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired 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 $243,461.40. This trade represents a 48.70% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 38,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 100.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 51,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. 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.