Heritage Investors Management Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Heritage Investors Management Corp decreased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 440 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in QuidelOrtho were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of QDEL. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 3rd quarter valued at $476,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 970.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 6,945 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 4,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 4,460 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 128.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of QuidelOrtho from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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 target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.20.

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 6,033 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $41.42 per share, for a total transaction of $249,886.86. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,886.86. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

QuidelOrtho stock opened at $39.78 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.37. QuidelOrtho Co. has a twelve month low of $29.74 and a twelve month high of $49.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 0.08.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal 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.