QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Shares Up 6.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) rose 6.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $18.32 and last traded at $18.5090. Approximately 308,787 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,835,040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on QDEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research raised QuidelOrtho from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on QuidelOrtho from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded QuidelOrtho from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.62.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -1.04 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.56.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.41). QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 45.57%.The business had revenue of $619.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $665.23 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. QuidelOrtho has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.800-2.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC lifted its position 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. Tejara Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 208,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,950,000 after purchasing an additional 102,700 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. grew its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 170,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,856,000 after purchasing an additional 53,353 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 222.0% during the 4th quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 833,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,813,000 after purchasing an additional 574,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM increased its stake in QuidelOrtho by 131.0% during the 4th quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 202,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,786,000 after buying an additional 114,895 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

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.