QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Price Target Raised to $45.00 at UBS Group

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $43.00 to $45.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.63% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.71.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

QuidelOrtho stock traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.43. The company had a trading volume of 324,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 869,007. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of -1.48 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. QuidelOrtho has a one year low of $29.74 and a one year high of $49.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.28 and a 200 day moving average of $42.35.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.44). QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 66.25% and a positive return on equity of 4.24%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that QuidelOrtho will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total transaction of $291,667,061.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 6,033 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.42 per share, for a total transaction of $249,886.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,886.86. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in QuidelOrtho in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 188.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 122.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 4,460.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 4,460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

QuidelOrtho Company Profile

QuidelOrtho Corporation provides diagnostic testing solutions. The company operates through Labs, Transfusion Medicine, Point-of-Care, and Molecular Diagnostics business units. The Labs business unit provides clinical chemistry laboratory instruments and tests that measure target chemicals in bodily fluids for the evaluation of health and the clinical management of patients; immunoassay laboratory instruments and tests, which measure proteins as they act as antigens in the spread of disease, antibodies in the immune response spurred by disease, or markers of proper organ function and health; testing products to detect and monitor disease progression across a spectrum of therapeutic areas; and specialized diagnostic solutions.