Analysts Set QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) Target Price at $31.50

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.50.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated 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 note on Tuesday, February 17th. 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. Finally, UBS Group set a $30.00 price target on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, February 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuidelOrtho

In related news, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 10,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $945,322.07. This trade represents a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Strobeck bought 10,000 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.96 per share, with a total value of $239,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,489. This represents a 56.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QDEL. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 98.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 463,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,642,000 after acquiring an additional 229,938 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 217.7% during the third quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP now owns 80,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 54,829 shares in the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 62.4% during the third quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 382,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,261,000 after purchasing an additional 146,956 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 34.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 173,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,994,000 after purchasing an additional 44,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho in the third quarter worth approximately $7,625,000. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of QDEL opened at $15.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.88 and its 200 day moving average is $26.25. QuidelOrtho has a 12-month low of $14.45 and a 12-month high of $38.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 0.75.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.