Analysts Set QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Price Target at $28.25

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.25.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on QDEL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $30.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

Insider Transactions at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, Director Matthew Strobeck purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired 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 approximately $665,489. The trade was a 56.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 10,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.59 per share, for a total transaction of $248,638.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $945,322.07. The trade was a 35.69% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 23,910 shares of company stock worth $567,973. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QDEL. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 3,691.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in QuidelOrtho during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 118.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of QDEL opened at $11.90 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.61. QuidelOrtho has a fifty-two week low of $11.61 and a fifty-two week high of $38.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $810.15 million, a PE ratio of -0.71 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.50.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $723.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that QuidelOrtho will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.