QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Shares Down 5.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• QuidelOrtho shares fell 5.6% on Tuesday, closing at $15.65 after trading as low as $15.85, with volume well below average.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $13.62, though a few firms recently upgraded it to Hold or Neutral.
• The company’s latest earnings missed expectations, with EPS of -$0.04 versus $0.37 expected and revenue of $619.8 million versus $665.23 million estimated, while quarterly sales fell 10.5% year over year.

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $15.85 and last traded at $15.6520. Approximately 550,902 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 1,797,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on QDEL. Wall Street Zen raised QuidelOrtho from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of QuidelOrtho from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $13.62.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.00. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.88 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $619.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $665.23 million. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 45.57%.QuidelOrtho's quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. QuidelOrtho has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.800-2.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that QuidelOrtho Corporation will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of QuidelOrtho

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 3,691.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 910 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in QuidelOrtho in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,082 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in QuidelOrtho by 322.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 67.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company's stock.

About QuidelOrtho

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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