StockNews.com Upgrades QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) to Buy

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

QDEL has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup raised QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on QuidelOrtho in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QDEL traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.89. 767,486 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 852,359. QuidelOrtho has a 12-month low of $29.74 and a 12-month high of $69.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.54 and a beta of 0.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.20.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.55. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 4.24% and a negative net margin of 66.25%. The company had revenue of $727.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $642.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. QuidelOrtho’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In related news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total transaction of $291,667,061.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 6,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,886.86. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QDEL. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 188.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 73.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 122.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

About QuidelOrtho

QuidelOrtho Corporation provides diagnostic testing solutions. The company operates through Labs, Transfusion Medicine, Point-of-Care, and Molecular Diagnostics business units. The Labs business unit provides clinical chemistry laboratory instruments and tests that measure target chemicals in bodily fluids for the evaluation of health and the clinical management of patients; immunoassay laboratory instruments and tests, which measure proteins as they act as antigens in the spread of disease, antibodies in the immune response spurred by disease, or markers of proper organ function and health; testing products to detect and monitor disease progression across a spectrum of therapeutic areas; and specialized diagnostic solutions.