QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $11.37 and last traded at $11.22, with a volume of 193855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on QDEL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $30.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $28.25.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 6.8%

The firm has a market cap of $755.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.67 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.21 and its 200 day moving average is $24.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its earnings results 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. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.91% and a negative net margin of 41.46%.The firm had revenue of $723.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 10,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.59 per share, with a total value of $248,638.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 40,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $945,322.07. The trade was a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 3,370 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.66 per share, with a total value of $79,734.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares in the company, 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 bought 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

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

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.