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Should Value Investors Buy QuidelOrtho (QDEL) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One stock to keep an eye on is QuidelOrtho (QDEL - Free Report) . QDEL is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.2 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 21.53. Over the past 52 weeks, QDEL's Forward P/E has been as high as 25.36 and as low as 7.93, with a median of 14.15.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. QDEL has a P/S ratio of 0.58. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.5.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that QDEL has a P/CF ratio of 9.65. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 11.88. Over the past year, QDEL's P/CF has been as high as 15.25 and as low as 7.23, with a median of 10.68.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in QuidelOrtho's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that QDEL is an impressive value stock right now.


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