QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Trading 9% Higher – Should You Buy?

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL)’s share price traded up 9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $15.07 and last traded at $15.0960. 830,781 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 1,438,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on QDEL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $30.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research cut shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QuidelOrtho has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.04 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (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 revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 10,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,073 shares in the company, valued at $945,322.07. The trade was a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 3,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.66 per share, with a total value of $79,734.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,461.40. This represents a 48.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973 over the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in QuidelOrtho by 3,691.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 100.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 118.1% during the third 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. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.