QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $14.26 and last traded at $14.30, with a volume of 260814 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on QDEL. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group set a $30.00 price target on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QuidelOrtho has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.64. The company has a market capitalization of $963.33 million, a P/E ratio of -0.86 and a beta of 0.92.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $723.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.80 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 41.46% and a positive return on equity of 5.91%. QuidelOrtho’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew Strobeck acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought 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. This trade represents a 56.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 3,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.66 per share, for a total transaction of $79,734.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,461.40. The trade was a 48.70% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 23,910 shares of company stock worth $567,973. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in QDEL. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 98.6% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 463,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,642,000 after purchasing an additional 229,938 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 217.7% during the third quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP now owns 80,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 54,829 shares in the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 62.4% during the third quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 382,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,261,000 after purchasing an additional 146,956 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,625,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 10.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,115,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,303,000 after purchasing an additional 199,909 shares in the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.