QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $28.80, but opened at $26.68. QuidelOrtho shares last traded at $25.84, with a volume of 798,588 shares trading hands.

Trending Headlines about QuidelOrtho

Here are the key news stories impacting QuidelOrtho this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Brian Blaser purchased 10,540 shares (~$23.59 avg), increasing his stake by ~35.7% — a strong insider vote of confidence from the CEO. CEO Form 4
• Positive Sentiment: Director Matthew Strobeck bought 10,000 shares (~$23.96 avg), increasing his stake substantially — another internal signal supporting management’s view of value. Director Form 4
• Positive Sentiment: CFO Joseph Busky also bought 3,370 shares (~$23.66 avg), a meaningful increase in his ownership. Insider buys from multiple officers can signal confidence in longer-term prospects. CFO Form 4
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus: EPS $0.46 vs. $0.43 and revenue $723.6M vs. $699.8M — top-line strength was driven by Labs and global growth. This is supportive but not enough to offset other headwinds. Zacks: Q4 Earnings Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Company outlined a 2026 revenue target of $2.7B–$2.9B and emphasized R&D pipeline progress — positive for long-term growth, but investors are focused on near-term profitability and execution. Seeking Alpha: 2026 Revenue Target
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance came in light: EPS $2.00–$2.42 vs. consensus ~ $2.49 and revenue guidance $2.7B–$2.9B vs. ~$2.8B consensus — the EPS range disappointed investors and likely drove most of the selling pressure. AAII: Why QDEL Is Down
• Negative Sentiment: Margins compressed in Q4 and management cited respiratory weakness weighing on profitability — margin recovery is central to meeting upside expectations and was highlighted in negative market commentary. Yahoo: Q4 Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Planned retirement of the CFO was announced (timing/succession details matter); leadership changes in finance can create near-term uncertainty until a successor is named. TipRanks: CFO Retirement

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group set a $30.00 price objective on QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of -1.42 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.71.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. QuidelOrtho’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QuidelOrtho news, Director Matthew Strobeck acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.96 per share, with a total value of $239,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,489. The trade was a 56.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 4,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.06 per share, for a total transaction of $124,306.20. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,335.20. This trade represents a 221.86% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 53,300 shares of company stock worth $1,225,313. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 3,691.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in QuidelOrtho in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 50.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 2,460.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Company Profile

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.