QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Stock Price Down 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on QDEL shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup raised QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.47 and a beta of 0.08. 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 fifty day moving average of $42.00 and a 200 day moving average of $40.93.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total transaction of $291,667,061.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 6,033 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,886.86. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 4th quarter worth about $301,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 4th quarter worth about $433,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 126.5% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 37,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after acquiring an additional 21,147 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,405,000 after acquiring an additional 106,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 920,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,996,000 after purchasing an additional 16,059 shares during the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is currently 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.