QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.00.

QDEL has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th.

QuidelOrtho Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:QDEL opened at $27.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.65. QuidelOrtho has a fifty-two week low of $19.50 and a fifty-two week high of $44.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of -1.64 and a beta of 0.68.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $699.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $667.45 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 42.53% and a positive return on equity of 5.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 23,500 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.34 per share, for a total transaction of $501,490.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 29,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $630,234.22. This trade represents a 389.52% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 4,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.06 per share, for a total transaction of $124,306.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,335.20. The trade was a 221.86% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 29,390 shares of company stock valued at $657,340 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QDEL. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 38,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in QuidelOrtho by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in QuidelOrtho by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 51,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in QuidelOrtho by 1.9% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 30,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

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.