Analysts Set QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) PT at $31.50

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.50.

QDEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of 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 report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $30.00 target price on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

QuidelOrtho Trading Down 5.3%

QDEL opened at $14.78 on Thursday. QuidelOrtho has a one year low of $14.45 and a one year high of $38.99. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.89 and a beta of 0.75.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Analysts predict that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1,218.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,803,000 after buying an additional 74,112 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 228,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,987,000 after acquiring an additional 21,968 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in QuidelOrtho by 210.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 13,876 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in QuidelOrtho by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in QuidelOrtho during the second quarter worth about $487,000. 99.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.