QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.20.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on QDEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ QDEL opened at $41.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.22. QuidelOrtho has a 1 year low of $29.74 and a 1 year high of $49.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 0.08.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.44). QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 72.84% and a positive return on equity of 3.78%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 6,033 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,886.86. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QDEL. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in QuidelOrtho during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 300.7% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 188.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. 99.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Company Profile

QuidelOrtho Corporation provides diagnostic testing solutions. The company operates through Labs, Transfusion Medicine, Point-of-Care, and Molecular Diagnostics business units. The Labs business unit provides clinical chemistry laboratory instruments and tests that measure target chemicals in bodily fluids for the evaluation of health and the clinical management of patients; immunoassay laboratory instruments and tests, which measure proteins as they act as antigens in the spread of disease, antibodies in the immune response spurred by disease, or markers of proper organ function and health; testing products to detect and monitor disease progression across a spectrum of therapeutic areas; and specialized diagnostic solutions.