QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Shares Down 3.6% – Should You Sell?

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL)’s share price was down 3.6% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $16.62 and last traded at $16.63. Approximately 70,013 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 1,393,603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on QDEL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup upped their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $30.00 price target on QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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

Insider Activity

In other QuidelOrtho news, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 3,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.66 per share, for a total transaction of $79,734.20. Following the completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Strobeck purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.96 per share, for a total transaction of $239,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $665,489. This trade represents a 56.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QDEL. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 98.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 463,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,642,000 after acquiring an additional 229,938 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 217.7% in the third quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP now owns 80,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 54,829 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 62.4% in the third quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 382,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,261,000 after purchasing an additional 146,956 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in QuidelOrtho during the third quarter worth about $7,625,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in QuidelOrtho by 10.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,115,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,303,000 after purchasing an additional 199,909 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.