Skylands Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in QuidelOrtho Corporation $QDEL

Skylands Capital LLC grew its position in QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,825 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,025 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC owned 0.15% of QuidelOrtho worth $3,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in QuidelOrtho by 100.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 2,460.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 118.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tableaux LLC purchased a new stake in QuidelOrtho in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on QDEL shares. Zacks Research raised shares of QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on QuidelOrtho from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

Shares of QDEL stock opened at $29.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of -1.72 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. QuidelOrtho Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.50 and a 52 week high of $43.92.

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.