QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,710,000 shares, an increase of 20.4% from the March 31st total of 2,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QDEL traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.55. The company had a trading volume of 942,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,939. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -253.44 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.57. QuidelOrtho has a one year low of $37.78 and a one year high of $95.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.14.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $742.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $796.91 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 0.34% and a positive return on equity of 5.54%. The business’s revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that QuidelOrtho will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on QDEL. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on QuidelOrtho from $130.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QuidelOrtho news, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 2,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.35 per share, for a total transaction of $99,652.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 109.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 622.5% during the third quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 45.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,382,000 after purchasing an additional 14,537 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 2.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

About QuidelOrtho

QuidelOrtho Corporation provides diagnostic testing solutions. The company operates through Labs, Transfusion Medicine, Point-of-Care, and Molecular Diagnostics business units. The Labs business unit provides clinical chemistry laboratory instruments and tests that measure target chemicals in bodily fluids for the evaluation of health and the clinical management of patients; immunoassay laboratory instruments and tests, which measure proteins as they act as antigens in the spread of disease, antibodies in the immune response spurred by disease, or markers of proper organ function and health; testing products to detect and monitor disease progression across a spectrum of therapeutic areas; and specialized diagnostic solutions.