QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Stock Price Up 9.5% – Still a Buy?

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) shares shot up 9.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $16.81 and last traded at $16.6840. 217,809 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,285,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QDEL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $30.00 target price on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.99 and a beta of 0.75.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $723.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 3,370 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.66 per share, for a total transaction of $79,734.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,461.40. This represents a 48.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Strobeck acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.96 per share, with a total value of $239,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,489. This represents a 56.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 87.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,906,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,503 shares in the last quarter. Newtyn Management LLC raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,515,000 after buying an additional 994,332 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 101.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,755,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,134,000 after acquiring an additional 883,077 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,832,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,925,000 after acquiring an additional 819,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 222.0% during the fourth quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 833,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,813,000 after acquiring an additional 574,877 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.