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Quidel (QDEL) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

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Quidel Corporation (QDEL - Free Report) is expected to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 results in the early weeks of February.

The company delivered an earnings surprise of 26.2% in the last reported quarter. Further, its bottom line beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 30.7%.

Q4 Estimates

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total revenues of $807.9 million implies growth of 430.9% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. Also, the consensus mark for earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at $10.10, suggesting a 910% surge from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.

Factors at Play

Quidel is likely to have witnessed a solid performance by its COVID-19 Molecular Diagnostics and Rapid Immunoassay products in the fiscal fourth quarter. This, in turn, is likely to have driven revenue growth in the to-be-reported quarter. In fact, per the preliminary announcement, the company projects fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 revenues between $808 million and $810 million (up from $476 million in the year-ago quarter).

In the last reported quarter, Quidel’s Molecular Diagnostic Solutions delivered robust results. This momentum is likely to have continued in the fiscal fourth quarter. Strong sales of Lyra SARS-CoV-2 and Lyra Direct SARS-CoV-2 products are expected to have boosted growth in the to-be-reported quarter.

The company is likely to have witnessed an uptick in rapid immunoassay revenues in the fiscal fourth quarter on higher sales derived from the Sofia platform. Progress of this platform is expected to have been aided by an increase in Sofia SARS Antigen sales.

 

Quidel Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Quidel Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

 

Quidel Corporation price-eps-surprise | Quidel Corporation Quote

 

However, Quidel witnessed a decline in its specialized diagnostic solutions revenues in the last reported quarter. This downside was due to weak respiratory products in the company’s Cell Culture business, a trend that most likely continued in the fiscal fourth quarter too.

Nonetheless, overall molecular growth of Lyra product category is expected to have contributed to the to-be-reported quarter’s topline, possibly led by an uptick in Solana SARS revenues.

Advancement of the COVID-19 diagnostic product pipeline, especially with the Sofia Serology assay, is expected to have bettered the company’s performance in the fiscal fourth quarter.

Quidel has been evolving within its R&D and instrument systems development teams for a while now. This, in turn, is expected to reflect on its results for the fiscal fourth quarter. Moreover, solid momentum of the Savanna cross-functional product development team might have enhanced the company’s to-be-reported quarter’s performance.

In recent times, Sniffles —the company’s next-generation Sofia platform— is steadily gaining traction, which is also likely to have bumped up the top line in the to-be-reported quarter.

Additionally, the company is expected to have consistently benefited from newer products like Sofia Lyme, TriageTrue, High Sense, Troponin assay, Triage PLGF and the new Sofia GI suite in the quarter as well.

What Our Quantitative Model Suggests

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for Quidel this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that is not the case here as you will see.

Earnings ESP: Quidel has an Earnings ESP of -0.23%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Quidel carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks Worth a Look

Here are some medical stocks worth considering as these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

Option Care Health, Inc. (OPCH - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +34.69% and a Zacks Rank of 2, currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Radius Health, Inc. (RDUS - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +10.54% and a Zacks Rank #2, at present.

Ecolab Inc. (ECL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.08% and a Zacks Rank of 3, presently.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>

 

 

 


 

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