Legato Capital Management LLC Takes Position in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $840,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of QuidelOrtho in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in QuidelOrtho in the fourth quarter valued at about $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in QuidelOrtho by 344.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 1,546 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of QuidelOrtho by 122.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 4,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 4,460 shares during the period. 99.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of QuidelOrtho stock traded down $1.08 on Monday, reaching $40.57. 1,445,774 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 828,934. QuidelOrtho Co. has a 1-year low of $29.74 and a 1-year high of $49.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.38. The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.45 and a beta of 0.08.

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.44). QuidelOrtho had a negative net margin of 66.25% and a positive return on equity of 4.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on QDEL. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup raised QuidelOrtho from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on QuidelOrtho from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of QuidelOrtho from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.20.

Insider Transactions at QuidelOrtho

In related news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 8,260,183 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total value of $291,667,061.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian J. Blaser bought 6,033 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $41.42 per share, for a total transaction of $249,886.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $249,886.86. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

QuidelOrtho 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.