QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on QDEL. Citigroup upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on QuidelOrtho from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded QuidelOrtho from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.62.

QuidelOrtho Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of QuidelOrtho stock opened at $15.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.99. QuidelOrtho has a 12-month low of $9.92 and a 12-month high of $35.58.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.18. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 4.88% and a negative net margin of 39.20%.The business had revenue of $630.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. QuidelOrtho’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. QuidelOrtho has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.650-0.900 EPS. Research analysts expect that QuidelOrtho will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in QuidelOrtho by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 38,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.1% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 70,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.