Legato Capital Management LLC Takes Position in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $840,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in QuidelOrtho during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in QuidelOrtho during the 4th quarter worth $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in QuidelOrtho by 344.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in QuidelOrtho by 122.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in QuidelOrtho by 4,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 4,460 shares during the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on QDEL. UBS Group raised their target price on QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded QuidelOrtho from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup upgraded QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.71.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

Shares of QDEL opened at $41.65 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.28 and a 200-day moving average of $42.35. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of -1.49 and a beta of 0.08. QuidelOrtho Co. has a one year low of $29.74 and a one year high of $49.56.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.44). QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 66.25% and a positive return on equity of 4.24%. On average, equities research analysts predict that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

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.