Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $10.60 Million Stock Holdings in QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its stake in shares of QuidelOrtho Co. (NASDAQ:QDEL) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 143,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,300 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in QuidelOrtho were worth $10,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of QDEL. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 30.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 10,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 2,476 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 27.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after buying an additional 3,203 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 113.0% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 58.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of QuidelOrtho by 905.3% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 1,874 shares in the last quarter. 99.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Joseph M. Busky purchased 2,150 shares of QuidelOrtho stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.35 per share, with a total value of $99,652.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,652.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

QuidelOrtho Stock Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ QDEL traded up $0.86 on Friday, reaching $39.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,106,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,211. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. QuidelOrtho Co. has a 1 year low of $37.78 and a 1 year high of $95.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -244.50 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on QDEL shares. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on QuidelOrtho from $130.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $42.00 price target (down previously from $70.00) on shares of QuidelOrtho in a report on Monday, March 4th. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating on shares of QuidelOrtho in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded QuidelOrtho from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QuidelOrtho has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.60.

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.