QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.20.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

NASDAQ QDEL opened at $40.57 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.34. QuidelOrtho has a 52-week low of $29.74 and a 52-week high of $49.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.45 and a beta of 0.08.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.44). QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 4.24% and a negative net margin of 66.25%. Equities research analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in QuidelOrtho during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 188.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the fourth quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 122.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.