Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Shares in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 13,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 109.0% during the 3rd 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. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in QuidelOrtho during the third quarter valued at approximately $106,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in QuidelOrtho in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $123,000. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 622.5% in the 3rd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.00% of the company’s stock.

QuidelOrtho Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QDEL opened at $40.82 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -255.13 and a beta of 0.11. QuidelOrtho Co. has a 12 month low of $37.78 and a 12 month high of $95.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.03.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $742.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $796.91 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 0.34% and a positive return on equity of 5.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at QuidelOrtho

In other QuidelOrtho news, CFO Joseph M. Busky bought 2,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.35 per share, for a total transaction of $99,652.50. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,652.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $42.00 target price (down previously from $70.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.