QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded QuidelOrtho from "buy" to "hold," and analyst coverage is mixed — the stock's average rating is listed as "Reduce" with a consensus target price of $28.25.
• QuidelOrtho slightly beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.46 vs. $0.43; revenue $723.6M vs. $699.8M) but reported a negative net margin of 41.46%; the stock opened at $13.85 with a market cap of about $943M and is near its 52-week low.
• Company insiders bought shares recently (CEO bought 10,540 shares; a director bought 10,000), increasing their stakes, while institutional/hedge fund ownership is extremely high at roughly 99%.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded QuidelOrtho from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on QuidelOrtho from $30.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $28.25.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QDEL opened at $13.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $942.91 million, a PE ratio of -0.83 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.45. QuidelOrtho has a fifty-two week low of $13.84 and a fifty-two week high of $38.99.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $723.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.80 million. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.91% and a negative net margin of 41.46%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In related news, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 10,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.59 per share, with a total value of $248,638.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $945,322.07. This trade represents a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Strobeck purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.96 per share, for a total transaction of $239,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,489. This trade represents a 56.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have bought 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of QDEL. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 98.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 463,223 shares of the company's stock worth $13,642,000 after buying an additional 229,938 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 217.7% during the third quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP now owns 80,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 54,829 shares in the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 62.4% during the third quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 382,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,261,000 after purchasing an additional 146,956 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in QuidelOrtho in the third quarter worth $7,625,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 10.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,115,557 shares of the company's stock worth $62,303,000 after acquiring an additional 199,909 shares in the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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