QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.000-2.420 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.490. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.7 billion-$2.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.8 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group set a $30.00 price objective on QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QDEL traded down $5.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $23.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,258,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,131,989. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.40 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.75. QuidelOrtho has a one year low of $19.50 and a one year high of $43.92. 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 (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 42.53% and a positive return on equity of 5.75%. The firm had revenue of $723.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 4,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.06 per share, for a total transaction of $124,306.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,335.20. This trade represents a 221.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 23,500 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.34 per share, for a total transaction of $501,490.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 29,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $630,234.22. This represents a 389.52% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 29,390 shares of company stock worth $657,340 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

QuidelOrtho News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting QuidelOrtho this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue and adjusted EPS beat consensus: Reported revenue ~$723.6M (up ~2% YoY) and adjusted EPS topped consensus (reported $0.46 vs. ~$0.43 estimate), showing underlying demand in Labs and TRIAGE product lines. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlights FY26 growth plan and R&D/pipeline progress and says it expects margin expansion and >$200M improvement in free cash flow, signaling a path to higher profitability over time. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released full earnings materials and the earnings call transcript (useful for details on product trends, backlog and margin drivers). Conference Materials
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance missed EPS consensus: QDEL set FY26 EPS guidance of $2.00–$2.42 vs. Street ~$2.49, and revenue guidance $2.7B–$2.9B (midpoint roughly in line but slightly cautious vs consensus), a key reason for the intra‑day weakness. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Margins compressed in Q4 and the company flagged respiratory weakness that pressured profitability; GAAP results show operating losses and reported negative net margin metrics that contrast with adjusted performance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and market skepticism persists (e.g., recent Underweight from JPMorgan) and some third‑party data show GAAP EPS weakness and elevated liabilities — factors that can keep the stock under pressure until margins and guidance prove sustainable. Article Title

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 46,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 7,117 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 227.5% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 77,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 53,622 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 133,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 246,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 18,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 106,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,048,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

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.