QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) Short Interest Update

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,410,000 shares, a decline of 17.6% from the January 15th total of 4,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

QuidelOrtho Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:QDEL opened at $40.57 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.36 and a 200 day moving average of $42.34. QuidelOrtho has a 1-year low of $29.74 and a 1-year high of $49.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last announced its quarterly 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 4.24% and a negative net margin of 66.25%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that QuidelOrtho will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on QDEL. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 6,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total transaction of $291,667,061.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuidelOrtho

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of QDEL. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 188.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 122.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.