QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Shares Down 3.6% – Time to Sell?

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL)’s stock price dropped 3.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $16.62 and last traded at $16.63. Approximately 70,013 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 1,393,603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QDEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group set a $30.00 target price on QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.81 and its 200 day moving average is $25.91.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $723.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 10,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.59 per share, with a total value of $248,638.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $945,322.07. This trade represents a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 3,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.66 per share, for a total transaction of $79,734.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,461.40. This represents a 48.70% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QDEL. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 3,691.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 100.6% in 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 period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in QuidelOrtho by 118.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.