QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

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

QDEL has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (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 note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, QuidelOrtho presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.20.

QuidelOrtho Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:QDEL traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.44. 22,880 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 865,301. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 0.59. 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 50-day moving average of $27.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.62. QuidelOrtho has a 52-week low of $19.50 and a 52-week high of $46.24.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.29. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.75% and a negative net margin of 42.53%.The business had revenue of $699.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $667.45 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. QuidelOrtho has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.000-2.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that QuidelOrtho 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 purchased 4,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 approximately $180,335.20. This trade represents a 221.86% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 23,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.34 per share, for a total transaction of $501,490.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $630,234.22. This trade represents a 389.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 29,390 shares of company stock worth $657,340 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QDEL. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 87.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,906,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,503 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,859,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,208,000 after purchasing an additional 350,636 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,700,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,841,000 after purchasing an additional 510,291 shares in the last quarter. Newtyn Management LLC boosted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,515,000 after purchasing an additional 994,332 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,115,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,303,000 after buying an additional 199,909 shares in 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.