QuidelOrtho (QDEL) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $1.54B
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 1.21M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 1.20
• Revenue Growth: -3.43%
• EPS Growth: 38.98%
• Country: US
• Employees: 6,600
• Sector: Healthcare
• Sector Strength: 45
• Industry: Medical - Instruments & Supplies
• EPS (TTM): 0.46
• Shares Outstanding: 68,081,764
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,165,068
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,211,595
• PEG Ratio: 0.04
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.03
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.73
• P/FCF Ratio: -23.93
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 2.66
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.50
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 3.21
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: -8.37
• 1Y Price Target: $30.75
• Price Target Upside: 36.06% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 5
• EPS Forecast (FY): 2.15
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $2.77B

• Rating: 45 Neutral
• Price Target: $20.50 ▼(-9.29% Downside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/13/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/13/26

The score is held down primarily by weak financial performance (large recent GAAP losses, higher leverage, and subdued cash generation). Technicals are neutral-to-soft, and valuation is challenged due to losses (negative P/E). The latest earnings call provides some offset with guidance for margin/FCF improvement and deleveraging, but execution and respiratory-driven volatility remain key risks.

Positive Factors

Recurring Labs Revenue

The labs segment is the largest and fastest-growing part of revenue, driven by clinical chemistry and recurring consumables. A 55% revenue share and mid-single-digit organic growth indicate durable, repeat-purchase demand that supports predictable revenue streams and consumable pull-through over the medium term.

Margin Recovery via Cost Savings

Delivering $140M of structural cost savings and expanding adjusted EBITDA into the low-20s demonstrates operational leverage. If sustained, these savings improve cash generation capacity and margin sustainability, enabling reinvestment in R&D and faster deleveraging without relying solely on top-line tailwinds.

Product Approvals and Pipeline

Recent FDA clearances and a molecular platform nearing approval expand the company’s addressable market and strengthen its differentiated offering. New assays and platform launches drive long-term consumable demand, deepen clinical adoption, and improve competitive positioning in both point-of-care and lab markets.

Negative Factors

Elevated Leverage

Leverage materially increased versus prior years and net debt/EBITDA was ~4.2x at year-end 2025, limiting financial flexibility. High leverage raises refinancing and interest-rate sensitivity, constrains capital allocation for M&A or capex, and makes successful, timely deleveraging critical to credit stability.

Compressed Cash Generation

Operating and free cash flow have weakened from earlier levels, with FCF conversion below corporate targets. Low recurring cash generation increases reliance on external financing or asset monetization to service debt and fund R&D/capex, prolonging recovery timelines and raising execution risk.

Profitability Deterioration

Despite mid-40% gross margins and a strong revenue rebound in 2025, operating and net margins remain deeply negative. Persistent profitability shortfalls and a large noncash goodwill impairment indicate prior acquisition payoffs and underlying margin pressure that must be corrected for sustainable earnings and balance-sheet repair.

QuidelOrtho Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

QuidelOrtho Corporation focuses on the development and manufacture of diagnostic testing technologies across the continuum of healthcare testing needs. 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. The Transfusion Medicine business unit offers immunohematology instruments and tests used for blood typing to ensure patient-donor compatibility in blood transfusions; and donor screening instruments and tests used for blood and plasma screening for infectious diseases. The Point-of-Care business unit provides tests to provide rapid results across a continuum of point-of-care settings. The Molecular Diagnostics business unit offers polymerase chain reaction thermocyclers; and analyzers and amplification systems. The company sells its products directly to end users through a direct sales force; and through a network of distributors for professional use in physician offices, hospitals, clinical laboratories, reference laboratories, urgent care clinics, universities, retail clinics, pharmacies, wellness screening centers, blood banks, and donor centers, as well as for individual, non-professional, and over-the-counter use. It operates in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and internationally. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

How the Company Makes Money

QuidelOrtho generates revenue through multiple key streams, primarily from the sale of its diagnostic products, including rapid tests and laboratory systems. The company's revenue model is built on a combination of direct product sales, recurring revenue from test kits and assays, and partnerships with healthcare providers and distributors. QuidelOrtho also benefits from long-term contracts with hospitals and clinics, which provide a stable income base. Collaborations with research institutions and healthcare organizations further enhance its earnings potential, enabling the development of novel diagnostic solutions and expanding its market reach. Additionally, government contracts, particularly during public health emergencies, can significantly boost revenue through increased demand for diagnostic testing.

QuidelOrtho Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Income statement weakness dominates: profitability deteriorated to very large losses in 2024–2025 despite mid‑40% gross margins, and the 2025 revenue rebound has not restored operating profitability. Balance sheet leverage increased materially (debt-to-equity rising to ~1.46 in 2025) as equity declined, while cash generation is only modestly positive again in 2025 after a negative 2024 and remains low versus historical levels.

Income Statement

Profitability has deteriorated sharply. After strong earnings in 2020–2022, the company moved to near breakeven in 2023 and then posted very large losses in 2024 and 2025 (net margins deeply negative despite mid‑40% gross margins). Revenue rebounded strongly in 2025 (up ~54% year over year) after declines in 2023–2024, but the top-line recovery has not translated into operating profitability, with operating and EBITDA margins still materially negative.

Balance Sheet

Leverage has increased and balance-sheet cushion has weakened. Debt is now meaningfully higher relative to equity (debt-to-equity rose from ~0.52 in 2023 to ~1.46 in 2025) as equity has declined, and returns on equity have been strongly negative in 2024–2025. Total assets have also stepped down since 2022, suggesting reduced balance-sheet capacity versus the prior peak, though the company still maintains substantial equity in absolute dollars.

Cash Flow

Cash generation has compressed materially from 2020–2022 levels. Operating cash flow fell to ~$105M in 2025 versus much higher historical levels, and free cash flow swung from strong positives in 2020–2022 to negative in 2024, then modestly positive in 2025. Cash flow covers only a small portion of operating profit needs (low operating cash flow relative to operating results), raising reliance on improvement in profitability and/or balance-sheet flexibility.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	2.73B	2.78B	3.00B	3.27B	1.70B
Gross Profit	1.27B	1.29B	1.50B	1.94B	1.28B
EBITDA	-488.10M	-1.49B	607.00M	1.09B	953.30M
Net Income	-1.13B	-2.05B	-10.10M	548.70M	704.20M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	5.77B	6.42B	8.56B	8.86B	2.43B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	202.20M	98.30M	167.30M	345.00M	828.50M
Total Debt	2.80B	2.68B	2.61B	2.85B	139.30M
Total Liabilities	3.85B	3.44B	3.56B	3.92B	501.00M
Stockholders Equity	1.92B	2.98B	5.01B	4.93B	1.93B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-83.00M	-112.10M	70.90M	744.40M	513.14M
Operating Cash Flow	105.20M	83.00M	280.20M	885.30M	805.87M
Investing Cash Flow	-192.70M	-149.90M	-187.60M	-1.64B	-319.53M
Financing Cash Flow	155.80M	48.80M	-265.80M	252.00M	-173.18M

QuidelOrtho Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 22.60
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For QDEL, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 22.6 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 25.26, below the 50-day MA of 28.30, and below the 200-day MA of 27.87, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -1.81 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 36.56 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 46.92 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for QDEL.

QuidelOrtho Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
HOLX	66 Neutral	$16.84B	31.31	10.86%	―	1.74%	-25.29%
MASI	63 Neutral	$13.02B	-63.25	23.43%	―	-16.03%	-813.48%
HAE	61 Neutral	$2.97B	17.55	19.30%	―	-2.45%	41.50%
Sector *	51 Neutral	$7.86B	-0.30	-43.30%	2.27%	22.53%	-2.21%
BAX	47 Neutral	$10.13B	―	-13.75%	2.75%	-21.20%	-325.40%
STAA	46 Neutral	$947.58M	-9.73	-24.65%	―	-32.42%	-540.37%
QDEL	45 Neutral	$1.54B	-1.36	-46.15%	―	-3.43%	38.98%

QuidelOrtho Corporate Events

QuidelOrtho Announces Planned Retirement of Chief Financial Officer

On February 9, 2026, QuidelOrtho Corporation announced that its Chief Financial Officer and principal financial officer, Joseph M. Busky, plans to retire effective June 30, 2026. The company stated that Busky’s retirement is due to personal reasons and does not stem from any disagreement over its financial statements, operations, policies or practices, suggesting continuity in its financial reporting and governance approach for stakeholders.

The planned transition of the CFO role signals an upcoming change in senior financial leadership that could shape QuidelOrtho’s financial strategy and capital markets communication. However, the explicit clarification that there are no disputes with management or auditors aims to reassure investors and other stakeholders that the company’s financial controls, accounting policies and operational direction remain stable despite the leadership change.

The most recent analyst rating on (QDEL) stock is a Hold with a $28.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on QuidelOrtho stock, see the QDEL Stock Forecast page.

QuidelOrtho Announces Board Director Matthew Strobeck’s Departure

On January 30, 2026, QuidelOrtho Corporation announced that board member Matthew W. Strobeck has decided not to stand for re-election at the company’s 2026 annual stockholders meeting due to other professional commitments. He will remain on the board until the annual meeting, after which the size of the board will be reduced from eleven to ten directors, with the company emphasizing that his departure is unrelated to any dispute or disagreement over its operations, policies, or practices and publicly expressing gratitude for his eight years of service.

The most recent analyst rating on (QDEL) stock is a Hold with a $27.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on QuidelOrtho stock, see the QDEL Stock Forecast page.