Gagnon Securities LLC Purchases 28,431 Shares of QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Gagnon Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL - Free Report) by 45.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 91,060 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,431 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC owned about 0.14% of QuidelOrtho worth $4,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in QDEL. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 46,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 68.5% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in QuidelOrtho by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,819 shares of the company's stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 540.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 9,168 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at QuidelOrtho

In related news, CEO Brian J. Blaser acquired 6,033 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.42 per share, with a total value of $249,886.86. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $249,886.86. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

Shares of QuidelOrtho stock traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.62. 246,239 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 849,803. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.57 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $43.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.18. QuidelOrtho Co. has a 12 month low of $29.74 and a 12 month high of $69.83.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $727.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $642.16 million. QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 66.25% and a positive return on equity of 4.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QDEL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised QuidelOrtho from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on QuidelOrtho in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.43.

About QuidelOrtho

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.