QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,350,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the January 31st total of 3,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian J. Blaser purchased 6,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $249,886.86. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of QDEL. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho in the 3rd quarter valued at $605,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 229,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,481,000 after acquiring an additional 33,588 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,907,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000,000 after acquiring an additional 275,522 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,256,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,290,000 after purchasing an additional 274,633 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in QuidelOrtho during the fourth quarter worth approximately $301,000. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QDEL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upgraded QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.20.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

NASDAQ QDEL traded up $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $39.79. 161,658 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 936,494. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 0.08. QuidelOrtho has a 1-year low of $29.74 and a 1-year high of $49.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.26. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.44). QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 72.84% and a positive return on equity of 3.78%. As a group, analysts expect that QuidelOrtho will post 2.3 EPS 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.