QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Receives $31.50 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.50.

QDEL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $30.00 price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 10,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.59 per share, with a total value of $248,638.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $945,322.07. This represents a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 3,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.66 per share, with a total value of $79,734.20. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares in the company, valued at $243,461.40. The trade was a 48.70% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 24,660 shares of company stock valued at $589,175. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 87.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,906,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,503 shares in the last quarter. Newtyn Management LLC boosted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,515,000 after buying an additional 994,332 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in QuidelOrtho by 101.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,755,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,134,000 after buying an additional 883,077 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in QuidelOrtho by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,832,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,925,000 after buying an additional 819,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 222.0% during the 4th quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 833,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,813,000 after acquiring an additional 574,877 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of QDEL stock opened at $21.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.29 and a beta of 0.75. QuidelOrtho has a 52-week low of $19.50 and a 52-week high of $41.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.61.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 negative net margin of 41.46% and a positive return on equity of 5.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.