QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $28.80, but opened at $26.68. QuidelOrtho shares last traded at $25.84, with a volume of 798,588 shares traded.

QuidelOrtho News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting QuidelOrtho this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results: revenue of $723.6M and EPS roughly in line/just above consensus, driven by Labs and TRIAGE growth — a sign that core diagnostic demand is holding. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted FY25 adjusted EBITDA margin expansion and expects >$200M improvement in free cash flow in FY26, and said it will continue R&D and pipeline investments — a structural positive if margins and cash flow materialize. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Company set a FY2026 revenue target of $2.7B–$2.9B and emphasized R&D progress — revenue range overlaps Street estimates but leaves execution risk on hitting the high end. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings package is available (press release, slides, and call transcript) — useful for investors who want detail on product-level trends, cost drivers and cadence for FY26. Read More. / Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.00–$2.42 came in below the consensus (~$2.49), which is the main near-term negative catalyst prompting the sell-off — markets typically punish guidance misses even when revenue targets are in-range. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Margins and some respiratory product weakness were called out by management and analysts; GAAP profitability metrics showed pressure (reports of net margin compression and operating loss in supplemental coverage), increasing uncertainty on near-term earnings power. Read More. / Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on QDEL shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $30.00 price target on QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on QuidelOrtho from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

QuidelOrtho Trading Down 19.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.35 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.75.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $723.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.80 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 42.53% and a positive return on equity of 5.75%. QuidelOrtho’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts expect that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 23,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.34 per share, with a total value of $501,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 29,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $630,234.22. The trade was a 389.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 4,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.06 per share, with a total value of $124,306.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,335.20. The trade was a 221.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 29,390 shares of company stock worth $657,340. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in QuidelOrtho by 1,218.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,803,000 after acquiring an additional 74,112 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $7,987,000 after purchasing an additional 21,968 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 210.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 13,876 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in QuidelOrtho by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 1.8% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.