QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) CFO Acquires $79,734.20 in Stock

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) CFO Joseph Busky purchased 3,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.66 per share, with a total value of $79,734.20. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,461.40. The trade was a 48.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of QuidelOrtho stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.88. 1,363,144 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,135,961. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.64 and its 200-day moving average is $27.73. QuidelOrtho Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.50 and a 52 week high of $42.50. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.52% and a negative net margin of 41.46%.The firm had revenue of $723.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

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

Key Headlines Impacting QuidelOrtho

Here are the key news stories impacting QuidelOrtho this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Insiders bought shares — CEO Brian Blaser purchased 10,540 shares (~$23.59 avg) and CFO Joseph Busky bought 3,370 shares, materially increasing their holdings; this signals management confidence in the business. Blaser SEC Filing Busky SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed — revenue of $723.6M modestly beat expectations and showed low-single-digit growth, and company reported $0.46 EPS (slightly above consensus). The quarter showed strength in Labs/TRIAGE but margin compression and some one‑time items left profitability weak. PR Newswire: Q4 Results
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance disappointed — management set EPS of $2.00–$2.42 vs. the ~$2.49 consensus and revenue guidance of $2.7B–$2.9B (center near consensus but lower‑end risk), which pushed investors to trim valuations given ongoing margin pressure. Seeking Alpha: FY26 Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and market reaction focuses on margin and guidance concerns — deep‑dive coverage and commentary highlight that margin improvement and R&D progress are positive longer‑term, but near‑term guidance and profitability metrics explain the sharp intraday selloff. Yahoo Finance Deep Dive AAII: Why QDEL Is Down

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group set a $30.00 target price on QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

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.