Insider Buying: QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Director Buys $239,600.00 in Stock

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Director Matthew Strobeck bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.96 per share, for a total transaction of $239,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,489. The trade was a 56.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of QuidelOrtho stock opened at $23.58 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.42 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.75. QuidelOrtho Corporation has a 52-week low of $19.50 and a 52-week high of $42.50. 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 (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $723.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.80 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 41.46% and a positive return on equity of 5.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QDEL. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1,218.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,803,000 after acquiring an additional 74,112 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in QuidelOrtho by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 228,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,987,000 after purchasing an additional 21,968 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 210.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 13,876 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 46.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.8% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $30.00 price objective on QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 upped their target price on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $31.50.

Trending Headlines about QuidelOrtho

Here are the key news stories impacting QuidelOrtho this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Brian Blaser purchased 10,540 shares (~$23.59 avg), increasing his stake by ~35.7% — a strong insider vote of confidence from the CEO. CEO Form 4
• Positive Sentiment: Director Matthew Strobeck bought 10,000 shares (~$23.96 avg), increasing his stake substantially — another internal signal supporting management’s view of value. Director Form 4
• Positive Sentiment: CFO Joseph Busky also bought 3,370 shares (~$23.66 avg), a meaningful increase in his ownership. Insider buys from multiple officers can signal confidence in longer-term prospects. CFO Form 4
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus: EPS $0.46 vs. $0.43 and revenue $723.6M vs. $699.8M — top-line strength was driven by Labs and global growth. This is supportive but not enough to offset other headwinds. Zacks: Q4 Earnings Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Company outlined a 2026 revenue target of $2.7B–$2.9B and emphasized R&D pipeline progress — positive for long-term growth, but investors are focused on near-term profitability and execution. Seeking Alpha: 2026 Revenue Target
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance came in light: EPS $2.00–$2.42 vs. consensus ~ $2.49 and revenue guidance $2.7B–$2.9B vs. ~$2.8B consensus — the EPS range disappointed investors and likely drove most of the selling pressure. AAII: Why QDEL Is Down
• Negative Sentiment: Margins compressed in Q4 and management cited respiratory weakness weighing on profitability — margin recovery is central to meeting upside expectations and was highlighted in negative market commentary. Yahoo: Q4 Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Planned retirement of the CFO was announced (timing/succession details matter); leadership changes in finance can create near-term uncertainty until a successor is named. TipRanks: CFO Retirement

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.