QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Trading Down 3.2% – Should You Sell?

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) dropped 3.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $43.02 and last traded at $43.19. Approximately 52,723 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 806,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on QDEL. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on QuidelOrtho in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on QuidelOrtho in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

QuidelOrtho Stock Up 4.0 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.50 and a beta of 0.08.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.55. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 66.25% and a positive return on equity of 4.24%. The firm had revenue of $727.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $642.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. QuidelOrtho’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 6,033 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total transaction of $291,667,061.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QDEL. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in QuidelOrtho during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 73.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 148.4% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 4,460.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 4,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in QuidelOrtho in the second quarter worth about $217,000. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About QuidelOrtho

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.