Quidel (QDEL) Q4 Earnings And Revenues Surpass Estimates

Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) reported fourth-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 80 cents, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 29%. Earnings climbed 42.9% on a year-over-year basis as well.

The medical product company posted fourth-quarter revenues of $132.6 million which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.3%. On a year-over-year basis, revenues rose 15.4%. Notably, the company’s Triage revenues saw an uptick in United States and China.

Post the release of a solid earnings performance, shares of the Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company jumped 5.2% to $64.30 at close. Over the past year, the stock has rallied 42.5% compared with the industry’s 4.5% and the S&P 500 index’s 0.9% rally.

2018 at a Glance

Quidel’s 2018 adjusted EPS came in at $3.04, which skyrocketed from the year-ago $1.07.

Revenues totaled $522.3 million, up a significant 88% from 2017.

Quidel Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Quidel Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Quidel Corporation Quote

Segment Details

Quidel reports through four segments — Rapid Immunoassay, Cardiac Immunoassay, Specialized Diagnostic Solutions and Molecular Diagnostic Solutions.

In the quarter under review, Rapid Immunoassay revenues totaled $50.4 million, up 2.6% year over year.

Cardiac Immunoassay sales improved 33.8% year over year to $62.9 million in the quarter, mostly due to incremental revenues in China.

Specialized Diagnostic Solutions raked in revenues worth $13.4 million, down 6.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Revenues at Molecular Diagnostic Solutions totaled $5.8 million, up 30% from the prior-year quarter.

Margins

Gross profit in the fourth quarter was $82.1 million up, 38.9% year over year. Gross margin was 61.9%, up from 51.5% a year ago.

Adjusted operating income came in at $30.8 million, up from the year-ago quarter’s $13.4 million. Adjusted operating margin was 23.2%, significantly up from the year-ago quarter’s 11.6%.

Outlook

Quidel expects molecular revenues to grow a minimum of 20% in 2019, driven by incremental Solana instrument placements and increased assay utilization. On the whole, management at Quidel expects 2019 to be highly productive.

In Conclusion

Quidel wrapped up the fourth quarter on a solid note. Significant upside in the company’s top line buoys optimism. Quidel continues to gain from its Cardiac Immunoassay segment which put up a solid show in the fourth quarter. Additionally, flagship Triage saw strong sales in the United States and China. Additionally, the company received CE Mark for its Sofia Quantitative Vitamin D Assay, Sofia 2 Lyme+ Fluorescent Immunoassay and TriageTrue High Sensitivity Troponin I Test.

On the flip side, Quidel’s Specialized Diagnostic Solutions unit saw some softness in the quarter. Also, revenues from Triage saw a downside in geographies like Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Earnings of Other MedTech Majors at a Glance

Other top-ranked MedTech stocks that posted solid quarterly results are Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) , AngioDynamics (NASDAQ:ANGO) and CONMED Corporation (NASDAQ:CNMD) .

Varian reported fiscal first-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.06, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues of $741 million outpaced the consensus mark of $717.9 million. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2.

AngioDynamics’ fiscal second-quarter adjusted EPS of 22 cents exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Revenues totaled $91.5 million, which surpassed the consensus estimate by 2.9%. The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CONMED delivered fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of 73 cents, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues of $242.4 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $229.2 million. The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 2.

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