Carlyle Sells QuidelOrtho Shares, Analyst Sees Overhang Lifted

On Tuesday, QuidelOrtho Corporation QDEL priced the previously announced underwritten secondary offering by Carlyle Partners VI Cayman Holdings of 8.26 million shares.

The selling stockholder will receive all of the proceeds. The company is not selling any shares.

The last reported sale price of QuidelOrtho’s common stock on Nov. 19 was $38.58 per share. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as the sole underwriter.

William Blair analysts noted that Carlyle sold some of its shares earlier this summer through smaller transactions. At that time, investors had suggested block trades or secondary transactions for any further sales by Carlyle. Tuesday’s announcement aligns with these preferences, which investors may view positively.

While some might interpret this move as a lack of confidence in QuidelOrtho's ongoing improvements, the analysts do not share that view.

Instead, they emphasize considering factors like Carlyle's long ownership period, as the firm originally acquired Ortho Clinical in 2014.

William Blair analysts write, “We take this as a long-term net-positive for the stock as it removes one of the overhangs that came up in investor conversations around the name.”

William Blair reiterates a Market Perform rating.

Price Action: QDEL stock is down 4.2% at $36.96 at last check Wednesday.

Read Next:

• Salesforce Tool Aims To Simplify AI Agent Testing, Deployment

Photo: Shutterstock