QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.43.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on QDEL shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In other news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total transaction of $291,667,061.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 6,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $249,886.86. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 51.9% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,645,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,106,000 after buying an additional 1,245,590 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in QuidelOrtho during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,320,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,565,000. Beaconlight Capital LLC acquired a new stake in QuidelOrtho in the 3rd quarter valued at $18,152,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 27.5% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,728,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,434,000 after acquiring an additional 372,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of QDEL stock opened at $47.61 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.29 and its 200-day moving average is $40.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of -1.71 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. QuidelOrtho has a 52 week low of $29.74 and a 52 week high of $75.07.

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

QuidelOrtho Company Profile

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.