QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.20.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

Shares of QDEL stock opened at $34.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.78. QuidelOrtho has a fifty-two week low of $19.50 and a fifty-two week high of $46.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 0.59.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $699.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $667.45 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 42.53% and a positive return on equity of 5.75%. QuidelOrtho’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. QuidelOrtho has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.000-2.150 EPS. Analysts expect that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at QuidelOrtho

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 23,500 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought 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 approximately $630,234.22. The trade was a 389.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky bought 4,770 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.06 per share, with a total value of $124,306.20. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,335.20. This represents a 221.86% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 29,390 shares of company stock valued at $657,340. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in QuidelOrtho by 1,218.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,803,000 after buying an additional 74,112 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 228,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,987,000 after acquiring an additional 21,968 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 210.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 13,876 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 8,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 51,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

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.