QuidelOrtho Corp. (QDEL) Traded Lower Due to Macro Concerns

Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Contrarian Fund” second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The U.S. equity market showcased a significant recovery during the quarter, rising 23% from low to end the quarter at a record high. U.S. large-cap stocks gained 11.1% in the quarter, and within the large-cap category, growth stocks outperformed value stocks. In this environment, the fund returned 16.42% (net) during the quarter, exceeding 8.59% returns of the Russell 2500 Index and 7.29% returns of the secondary benchmark, the Russell 2500 Value Index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, Meridian Contrarian Fund highlighted stocks such as QuidelOrtho Corporation NASDAQ:QDEL). QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) is a diagnostic testing solutions provider. The one-month return of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) was -7.51%, and its shares lost 41.75% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 25, 2025, QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) stock closed at $26.53 per share, with a market capitalization of $1.802billion.

Meridian Contrarian Fund stated the following regarding QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) is a global leader in the medical diagnostics industry. We invested in the third quarter of 2022 following pandemic-related earnings pressure. Our thesis was that Quidel’s 2022 merger with Ortho Clinical Diagnostics positioned the company as a top-tier diagnostics platform with the potential for improved top-line growth, margins, and free cash flow. While the company’s earnings report during the most recent quarter was in line with expectations and guidance was unchanged, the stock struggled due to broader macro concerns. The respiratory business remains soft, and the market has concerns about possible impacts from funding cuts in government health programs. Despite near-term headwinds, we see evidence of business improvements taking place under new leadership, and we maintained our position during the quarter.”

Why QuidelOrtho Corporation (QDEL) Went Up On Thursday

QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 31 hedge fund portfolios held QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) at the end of the second quarter, down from 32 in the previous quarter. QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) reported second quarter revenue of $614 million compared to $637 million in the prior year period. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) and shared the list of best small cap stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.