Analysts Set QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Price Target at $31.50

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.50.

QDEL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group set a $30.00 price objective on QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research downgraded QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th.

QuidelOrtho Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:QDEL opened at $16.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.00 and a beta of 0.92. 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 has a one year low of $14.45 and a one year high of $38.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.10.

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

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in QuidelOrtho by 87.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,906,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,503 shares in the last quarter. Newtyn Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,515,000 after purchasing an additional 994,332 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 101.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,755,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,134,000 after purchasing an additional 883,077 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $337,925,000 after purchasing an additional 819,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 574,877 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.