Wall Street Zen Upgrades QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) to Buy

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $30.00 price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QDEL opened at $17.25 on Friday. QuidelOrtho has a twelve month low of $14.45 and a twelve month high of $38.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -1.04 and a beta of 0.92.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $723.60 million during 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In other news, Director Matthew Strobeck purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.96 per share, with a total value of $239,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 27,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $665,489. This trade represents a 56.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 10,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.59 per share, for a total transaction of $248,638.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 40,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $945,322.07. The trade was a 35.69% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 1,218.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,803,000 after purchasing an additional 74,112 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 10.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 228,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,987,000 after acquiring an additional 21,968 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 210.9% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 13,876 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 2nd quarter worth about $883,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,270,000. 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.