QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $12.32 and last traded at $11.7370, with a volume of 2332294 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QDEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research cut QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on QuidelOrtho from $30.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $28.25.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $815.39 million, a P/E ratio of -0.72 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.87 and a 200-day moving average of $25.23.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $723.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In related news, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 10,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.59 per share, for a total transaction of $248,638.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 40,073 shares in the company, valued at $945,322.07. This trade represents a 35.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Matthew Strobeck acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $665,489. This trade represents a 56.26% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 23,910 shares of company stock worth $567,973. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 1,218.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,803,000 after acquiring an additional 74,112 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 210.9% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 13,876 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in QuidelOrtho in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,313,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 250.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 2,309 shares during the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About QuidelOrtho

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.