QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Trading Down 4.9% After Analyst Downgrade

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)’s stock price dropped 4.9% during trading on Friday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $61.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. QuidelOrtho traded as low as $39.73 and last traded at $39.60. Approximately 159,216 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 898,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.65.

A number of other analysts have also commented on QDEL. UBS Group boosted their target price on QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.71.

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 value of $291,667,061.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 6,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,886.86. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QDEL. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 188.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter valued at $74,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,601 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

QuidelOrtho Trading Down 6.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.35. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -1.40 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

About QuidelOrtho

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.