QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Stock Price Down 6% – Here’s Why

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) dropped 6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $31.87 and last traded at $33.2690. Approximately 419,111 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 863,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QDEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 report on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.20.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of -1.96 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In related news, CFO Joseph M. Busky bought 4,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.06 per share, with a total value of $124,306.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,335.20. The trade was a 221.86% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 23,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.34 per share, with a total value of $501,490.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 29,533 shares in the company, valued at $630,234.22. The trade was a 389.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 29,390 shares of company stock valued at $657,340 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 100.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 2,460.9% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 118.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 322.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 46.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.