QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Shares Up 9.3% – Here’s What Happened

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) shot up 9.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $19.12 and last traded at $19.2870. 121,906 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,191,388 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QDEL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group set a $30.00 price objective on QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QuidelOrtho currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

QuidelOrtho Trading Down 10.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.02 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.97.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.91% and a negative net margin of 41.46%.The firm had revenue of $723.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QuidelOrtho news, Director Matthew Strobeck purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.96 per share, for a total transaction of $239,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,775 shares in the company, valued at $665,489. The trade was a 56.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 10,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.59 per share, with a total value of $248,638.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $945,322.07. This trade represents a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 1,218.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,803,000 after buying an additional 74,112 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 228,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,987,000 after acquiring an additional 21,968 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 210.9% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 13,876 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 428,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,347,000 after purchasing an additional 12,668 shares in the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.