QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $14.75 and last traded at $15.0080, with a volume of 257918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on QDEL. Citigroup raised their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $30.00 price target on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 5.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of -0.89 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In other news, CFO Joseph M. Busky bought 3,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.66 per share, for a total transaction of $79,734.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,461.40. This represents a 48.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Strobeck bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.96 per share, for a total transaction of $239,600.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 27,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,489. This represents a 56.26% 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in QuidelOrtho in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $280,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,832,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,925,000 after purchasing an additional 819,908 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,470,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,122,000 after purchasing an additional 563,893 shares in the last quarter. Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter worth $1,260,000. Finally, Clearline Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 316,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,049,000 after purchasing an additional 84,283 shares in the last quarter. 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.