QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Issues Earnings Results

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.08), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $723.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.80 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 42.53% and a positive return on equity of 5.75%.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

QDEL traded down $0.41 on Wednesday, hitting $28.80. 1,200,839 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,039. QuidelOrtho has a fifty-two week low of $19.50 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.69 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.69 and its 200 day moving average is $27.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 4,770 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 23,500 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.34 per share, for a total transaction of $501,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $630,234.22. This represents a 389.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 29,390 shares of company stock valued at $657,340. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QDEL. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in QuidelOrtho by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 102,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 5,724 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.9% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 79,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 52.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 69,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 24,031 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter valued at $1,321,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in QuidelOrtho by 125.8% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 44,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 25,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on QDEL. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QuidelOrtho has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.00.

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.