Quidel will acquire Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Holdings PLC in a billion-dollar deal
The shares of Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:OCDX) are up 8.1% to trade at $21.45 last check, after news that Quidel (QDEL) will acquire the company for roughly $6 billion in a cash-and-stock deal -- expanding its portfolio of diagnostic products. In response, Evercore ISI downgraded OCDX to "in line" from "outperform," with a price-target cut to $24.68 from $30.
On the charts, today's pop has OCDX sitting above the $21 level, an area that has kept a lid on the shares' breakouts for the last few months. Before today's positive price action, the stock had been on the rise after bouncing off the $18 level. Since the start of the quarter, the equity has tacked on 15.3%.
The majority of the brokerage bunch is still bullish on Ortho Clinical Diagnostics stock. Ahead of today's bear note, all eight analysts in coverage carried a "buy" or better rating. Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $27.96 is a 31.1% premium to current levels.