Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 48,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,169,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of QuidelOrtho at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of QDEL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,037 shares of the company's stock worth $12,405,000 after purchasing an additional 106,642 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 126.5% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 37,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,687,000 after buying an additional 21,147 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in QuidelOrtho in the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter valued at $301,000. Institutional investors own 99.00% of the company's stock.

QuidelOrtho Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of QDEL traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.12. 1,332,813 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,007,253. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.96 and a beta of 0.43. QuidelOrtho Co. has a 12-month low of $23.77 and a 12-month high of $49.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $32.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.44). QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 3.78% and a negative net margin of 72.84%. Sell-side analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $38.00 to $25.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on QuidelOrtho from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered QuidelOrtho from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, QuidelOrtho presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.83.

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.