QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• QuidelOrtho hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $12.32 (last $11.7370) on heavy volume of about 2.33 million shares after a prior close of $17.49.
• Analyst sentiment has shifted negative — MarketBeat shows an average rating of Reduce (one Buy, two Hold, three Sell) with recent downgrades and price-target cuts from Zacks, Weiss and UBS, while Citigroup was a notable outlier raising its target.
• The company slightly beat quarterly revenue and EPS estimates ($723.6M revenue, $0.46 EPS) but reports a negative net margin (-41.46%) and negative P/E, even as insiders (including a director and the CFO) recently purchased additional shares.

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.32 and last traded at $11.7370, with a volume of 2332294 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on QDEL. Zacks Research downgraded QuidelOrtho from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on QuidelOrtho from $30.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded QuidelOrtho from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $28.25.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.87 and a 200-day moving average of $25.23. The firm has a market cap of $815.39 million, a P/E ratio of -0.72 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QuidelOrtho news, Director Matthew Strobeck acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.96 per share, with a total value of $239,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 3,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.66 per share, for a total transaction of $79,734.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $243,461.40. The trade was a 48.70% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 23,910 shares of company stock valued at $567,973. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QDEL. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 3,691.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 910 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 100.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,082 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 118.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company's stock.

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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