Raymond James Upgrades Quidel To Outperform, Sees New Product Catalysts

The weak 2015-2016 flu season is now over; and Quidel Corporation QDEL has multiple new product catalysts over the next nine months, Raymond James’ Nicholas Jansen said in a report. He upgraded the rating for the company from Market Perform to Outperform, while establishing a price target of $21.50.

While the Sofia 2 launch, multiple Solana assay approvals and Vitamin D/Lyme assays on Sofia could act as catalysts, Quidel’s shares have lost more than 30 percent from their 52-week high, analyst Nicholas Jansen said.

The analyst added that receptivity to non-influenza products seemed to be building and a more normalized 2016-2017 flu season could lend upside to the Street’s estimates for this year and the next, since these estimates currently do to reflect Quidel’s significant share gains in the category.

New Product Approvals Ahead

“Submission of the company’s next-generation Sofia analyzer is around the corner and we expect flu, RSV and Strep A to receive approval by the end of the year, which should help accelerate placement activity beyond the 15,000 or so Sofia 1 instruments in the market.”

The 1H17 launch of Vitamin D and Lyme off Sofia create new market opportunities, which are likely to boost diversification efforts. Moreover, Quidel’s molecular platform, Solana, is beginning to gain traction with Strep A, and more assays are pending approval in the back half of the year, opening up a broader customer base.