Analysts Set QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) PT at $31.50

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

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on QDEL. Zacks Research lowered QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $30.00 price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

NASDAQ QDEL opened at $20.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.64 and a 200 day moving average of $27.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. QuidelOrtho has a twelve month low of $19.50 and a twelve month high of $41.40.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $723.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.80 million. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.91% and a negative net margin of 41.46%.QuidelOrtho’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In related news, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 10,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.59 per share, with a total value of $248,638.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 40,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $945,322.07. This represents a 35.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 3,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.66 per share, with a total value of $79,734.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares in the company, valued at $243,461.40. This represents a 48.70% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 24,660 shares of company stock valued at $589,175. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 38,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 100.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 51,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after buying an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About QuidelOrtho

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.