Shares of Quidel Corporation (QDEL) jumped more than 6% in Thursday’s extended trading session after the provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, cellular-based virology assays and molecular diagnostic systems revealed preliminary revenue for the third quarter of 2021.
The company expects third-quarter total revenues to be in the range of $505 million to $510 million, reflecting an increase of 6% to 7% from $476.1 million reported in the same quarter last year. The consensus estimate stands at $186.33 million. Better-than-expected numbers are driven by a surge in demand for COVID-19 tests on rising infections.
Notably, in the third quarter, over 45 million SARS tests have been shipped, up 135% year-over-year. COVID-19 revenues are likely to be around $406 million, compared to $375.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
Quidel CEO Douglas Bryant commented, “…in the third quarter we manufactured and shipped the largest volume of tests ever produced and shipped in any quarter in Quidel’s history and are also on-track to reach our target run-rate capacity of approximately 70 million rapid antigen tests (50 million QuickVue and 20 million Sofia) per month by the end of the year.” (See Quidel stock charts on TipRanks)
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Recently, Craig-Hallum analyst Alexander Nowak reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $219 (56.5%upside potential).
Nowak said, “Management will submit QuickVue at-home Flu by year-end, which would further build-out this brand new at-home market spawned by COVID. An app for QuickVue at-home will also launch soon, which will enable NAVICA-level test report verification. Sofia Q will begin clinical trials for Flu, Strep, RSV and COVID this respiratory season and puts approval to 1H22 at the earliest. Given the extremely compact size and low cost, we see it being a great product for decentralized settings including ambulances, ships, pharmacies, employers and homes.”
Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 3 unanimous Buys. The average Quidel price target of $171.33 implies 22.5% upside potential from current levels. Shares have gained 6.1% over the past six months.
Investors should always be aware of the risks involved in any stock. According to the new TipRanks’ Risk Factors tool, Quidel is at risk mainly from three factors: Ability to Sell, Finance and Corporate, and Production, which contribute 24%, 21% and 21%, respectively, to the total 29 risks identified. Under the Ability to Sell risk category, QDEL has seven risks, details of which can be found on the TipRanks website.
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