Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target sharply, lowering QDEL's target from $30 to $13 and maintaining a "neutral" rating, a notable downward revision of expectations.
• Q1 results missed estimates—EPS of ($0.04) vs. $0.37 expected and revenue $619.8M vs. $665M (down ~10.5% YoY)—and management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $1.80–$2.00, below sell‑side consensus.
• Despite weak results, insiders including the CEO and CFO bought shares in February (insiders purchased ~23,910 shares in the last 90 days), while institutional investors own roughly 99% of the stock.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Citigroup from $30.00 to $13.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.91% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on QDEL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $30.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of QuidelOrtho from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QDEL traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.03. The stock had a trading volume of 4,456,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,795,123. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.82. The company has a market capitalization of $750.80 million, a PE ratio of -0.66 and a beta of 0.75. QuidelOrtho has a 1 year low of $10.21 and a 1 year high of $38.99.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $619.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $665.23 million. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.91% and a negative net margin of 41.46%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. QuidelOrtho has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.800-2.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that QuidelOrtho will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at QuidelOrtho

In related news, CFO Joseph M. Busky bought 3,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.66 per share, for a total transaction of $79,734.20. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,461.40. This trade represents a 48.70% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 10,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.59 per share, for a total transaction of $248,638.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 40,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $945,322.07. The trade was a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 23,910 shares of company stock worth $567,973 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QDEL. Goodman Financial Corp increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 12.5% during the first quarter. Goodman Financial Corp now owns 437,157 shares of the company's stock worth $7,182,000 after acquiring an additional 48,405 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 24.9% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,751 shares of the company's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 8,723 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 2.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,184 shares of the company's stock worth $5,441,000 after acquiring an additional 6,955 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 42,014.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 54,328 shares of the company's stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 54,199 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the first quarter worth $342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about QuidelOrtho

Here are the key news stories impacting QuidelOrtho this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted the planned acquisition of LEX Diagnostics and said it should accelerate growth in point‑of‑care molecular diagnostics, supporting longer‑term revenue potential. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: Company noted upcoming U.S. and international product launches that could drive future top‑line recovery if respiratory testing demand normalizes. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Full‑year revenue guidance was reiterated roughly in the $2.7B–$2.8B range, near consensus, which limits downside if execution holds. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released the slide deck and call transcript; investors can review management commentary and guidance detail on the call for color on margins and seasonality. Slide Deck / Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 results missed expectations: GAAP EPS of ($0.04) vs. consensus ~$0.37 and revenue of $619.8M vs. consensus ~$665M — revenue fell ~10.5% YoY, driven by a much weaker respiratory testing season, which pressured top line and investor sentiment. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Margins and cash flow were pressured (net margin turned negative and ROE weakened), and management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $1.80–$2.00, below consensus (~$2.17), signaling slower near‑term earnings recovery. MarketBeat / Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Heightened trading volume and large share turnover suggest elevated investor concern and potential continued volatility while the market digests how quickly respiratory demand and margins can normalize. Yahoo Finance

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.

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