Analysts Set QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) Price Target at $51.20

Shares of QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.20.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on QDEL. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 6,033 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $41.42 per share, for a total transaction of $249,886.86. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,886.86. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QDEL. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,238,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,667 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,447,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,293 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,171,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,817,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,716,000 after acquiring an additional 764,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the third quarter valued at about $34,320,000. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of QDEL opened at $40.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 0.08. QuidelOrtho has a 12-month low of $29.74 and a 12-month high of $49.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.37.

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

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.