QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.000-2.420 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.490. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.7 billion-$2.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.8 billion.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

Shares of QDEL stock traded down $2.96 on Thursday, reaching $25.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,100,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,012,461. QuidelOrtho has a 12 month low of $19.50 and a 12 month high of $43.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.72 and its two-hundred day moving average 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.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $723.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.80 million. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.75% and a negative net margin of 42.53%.QuidelOrtho’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on QDEL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.00.

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In related news, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 23,500 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.34 per share, with a total value of $501,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $630,234.22. This represents a 389.52% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 4,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.06 per share, for a total transaction of $124,306.20. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,335.20. This trade represents a 221.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 29,390 shares of company stock valued at $657,340. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

QuidelOrtho News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting QuidelOrtho this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management set a FY2026 revenue target of $2.7B–$2.9B and reiterated R&D progress and margin-expansion goals, signaling a path to higher adjusted margins and stronger free cash flow next year. QuidelOrtho outlines $2.7B–$2.9B 2026 revenue target
• Positive Sentiment: Reported Q4 revenue of $723.6M — slightly above consensus — and management highlighted lab and TRIAGE growth plus adjusted EBITDA margin expansion year-over-year. QuidelOrtho Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Insiders (including CEO) bought shares in recent months, which some investors view as a confidence signal from management. QuiverQuant Q4 earnings summary
• Neutral Sentiment: The revenue guidance range ($2.7B–$2.9B) sits roughly around Street estimates (~$2.8B), so top-line risk is mixed rather than clearly negative. QuidelOrtho guidance note
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call/transcript and slide deck are available for investors wanting details on product performance, margin drivers and cadence to guidance. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.00–$2.42 came in below the Street (~$2.49), creating an earnings shortfall that is the main near-term catalyst for the decline in the stock. (Company guidance entry)
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP profitability showed weakness: QuidelOrtho reported large GAAP losses on some metrics (reported net loss / negative net margin noted by third‑party summaries), which contrasts with the adjusted results and raises concerns about near-term margins and leverage. QuiverQuant Q4 GAAP vs adjusted summary
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment is mixed-to-cautious (recent Underweight from a large bank and a wide range of price targets), so analyst coverage may amplify downside if guidance concerns persist. Analyst commentary and price targets

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in QuidelOrtho by 87.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,859,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,208,000 after acquiring an additional 350,636 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,700,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,841,000 after acquiring an additional 510,291 shares in the last quarter. Newtyn Management LLC increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 58.3% in the third 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. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 101.2% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

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.