QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) Short Interest Update

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,410,000 shares, a decline of 17.6% from the January 15th total of 4,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 2.6 %

QDEL stock opened at $40.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.45 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.37. QuidelOrtho has a 1-year low of $29.74 and a 1-year high of $49.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total value of $291,667,061.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 6,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 50,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 204.5% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 803,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,818,000 after buying an additional 539,977 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 431,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,233,000 after acquiring an additional 114,850 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in QuidelOrtho in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its stake in QuidelOrtho by 216.7% in the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 120,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,372,000 after acquiring an additional 82,513 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QDEL has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.20.

About QuidelOrtho

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.