Magnetar Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL - Free Report) by 207.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 877,307 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 592,307 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC owned about 1.30% of QuidelOrtho worth $39,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of QDEL. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in QuidelOrtho by 188.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of QuidelOrtho in the 4th quarter worth $74,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho by 122.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,437 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in QuidelOrtho in the 3rd quarter worth $238,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in QuidelOrtho during the third quarter valued at about $262,000. 99.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuidelOrtho Price Performance

QDEL traded up $0.58 during trading on Monday, hitting $36.51. 677,172 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 933,647. The company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of -1.21 and a beta of 0.10. QuidelOrtho Co. has a 1 year low of $29.74 and a 1 year high of $49.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $40.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.71.

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QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.44). QuidelOrtho had a positive return on equity of 3.78% and a negative net margin of 72.84%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that QuidelOrtho Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QDEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded QuidelOrtho from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "hold" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of QuidelOrtho from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of QuidelOrtho from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised QuidelOrtho from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.20.

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.