Skylands Capital LLC Boosts Position in QuidelOrtho Corporation $QDEL

Skylands Capital LLC boosted its holdings in QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) by 26.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 104,825 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,025 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in QuidelOrtho were worth $3,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 98.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 463,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,642,000 after buying an additional 229,938 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP lifted its position in QuidelOrtho by 217.7% in the third quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP now owns 80,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 54,829 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in QuidelOrtho by 34.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 173,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,994,000 after acquiring an additional 44,242 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in QuidelOrtho in the third quarter valued at $7,625,000. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 27.8% during the second quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 466,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,430,000 after purchasing an additional 101,423 shares during the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In related news, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 4,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.06 per share, with a total value of $124,306.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,920 shares in the company, valued at $180,335.20. This trade represents a 221.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 23,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.34 per share, for a total transaction of $501,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 29,533 shares in the company, valued at $630,234.22. The trade was a 389.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 29,390 shares of company stock worth $657,340 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

NASDAQ QDEL opened at $29.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.72 and a beta of 0.68. QuidelOrtho Corporation has a 52-week low of $19.50 and a 52-week high of $43.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on QDEL shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on QuidelOrtho from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

QuidelOrtho 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.