QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.800-2.000 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.170. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.7 billion-$2.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.7 billion.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ QDEL traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $10.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,791,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,096,446. QuidelOrtho has a 1 year low of $10.21 and a 1 year high of $38.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $733.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.60 and a beta of 0.75.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $619.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $665.23 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 45.57% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. QuidelOrtho has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.800-2.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that QuidelOrtho will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on QDEL. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $12.50 in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $30.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $14.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Matthew Strobeck purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.96 per share, for a total transaction of $239,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 27,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $665,489. This trade represents a 56.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky bought 3,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.66 per share, for a total transaction of $79,734.20. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares in the company, valued at $243,461.40. This trade represents a 48.70% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

QuidelOrtho News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting QuidelOrtho this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management outlined a recovery plan on the Q1 earnings call — cost and operations actions plus focus on pipeline that could help margins and cash flow over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcripts and detailed coverage are available (Seeking Alpha, The Motley Fool, InsiderMonkey, Yahoo) — useful for parsing management commentary, but they add detail rather than a new catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 results missed estimates: a wider loss and revenue down ~10.5% y/y; management flagged respiratory testing weakness that pressured margins and cash flow — a near‑term headwind for profitability. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup cut its price target sharply from $30 to $13 and moved to a “neutral” rating — the downgrade narrows analyst support and increases downside pressure on sentiment despite the new PT implying limited upside from current levels. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 322.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 250.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in QuidelOrtho by 298.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 2,471 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 230.5% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

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.