QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Stock Price Down 4.9% Following Analyst Downgrade

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)’s stock price traded down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Friday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $39.73 and last traded at $39.60. 159,216 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 898,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.65.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on QDEL. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup raised QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on QuidelOrtho from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QuidelOrtho news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 6,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.42 per share, for a total transaction of $249,886.86. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 50,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 204.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 803,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,818,000 after acquiring an additional 539,977 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 431,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,233,000 after acquiring an additional 114,850 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 216.7% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 120,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,372,000 after acquiring an additional 82,513 shares in the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of -1.45 and a beta of 0.08.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.44). QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 66.25% and a positive return on equity of 4.24%. Sell-side analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 1.73 EPS for the current 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.