QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

QDEL has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $30.00 target price on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QuidelOrtho currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

QDEL stock opened at $24.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.50. QuidelOrtho has a 52-week low of $19.50 and a 52-week high of $42.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.45 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.73.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. QuidelOrtho’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Joseph M. Busky bought 4,770 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 10,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.59 per share, with a total value of $248,638.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 40,073 shares in the company, valued at $945,322.07. The trade was a 35.69% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 29,800 shares of company stock worth $723,823 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 3,691.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in QuidelOrtho by 2,460.9% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

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.