Short Interest in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) Grows By 20.4%

QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,710,000 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the March 31st total of 2,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Joseph M. Busky acquired 2,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.35 per share, for a total transaction of $99,652.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,150 shares in the company, valued at $99,652.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 109.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1,871.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in QuidelOrtho in the third quarter valued at about $123,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1,536.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,642 shares during the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

NASDAQ QDEL traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.55. The company had a trading volume of 942,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,939. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.14. QuidelOrtho has a fifty-two week low of $37.78 and a fifty-two week high of $95.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -253.44 and a beta of 0.11.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $742.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $796.91 million. QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 5.54% and a negative net margin of 0.34%. QuidelOrtho’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on QDEL shares. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $42.00 target price (down from $70.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.60.

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.