By
Godfrey Benjamin
October 4th, 2023
Quidel (QDEL) stock goes up as the healthcare manufacturer has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 antigen test. It is quicker, cheaper and easier to develop than most other diagnostics.
California based leading diagnostic healthcare manufacturer, Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL) healthcare has gotten emergency use approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 antigen. After that Quidel (QDEL) stock gained almost 30%. The Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA, is a point of care test for coronavirus infection. It relies on the old technology as recent tests are more complex to conduct and analyze.
The main advantage of the antigen test is speed. The FDA explained that it quickly detects fragments of protein found on or within the virus. Samples that are going to be tested are taken from the nose with swabs. But these tests might not find all active infections, as they are not as sensitive as molecular PCR tests. After an antigen result comes out negative, it still has to go through PCR testing before treatment decisions are made. This is a way of stopping the virus from spreading because of a wrong negative result.
Another advantage of Quidel’s antigen test is that it is cheaper unlike PCR. Also, as competitors begin to bring similar products, more people can get tested daily because of its simple design. Generally, the test is said to be quicker, cheaper, and easier to develop than most other diagnostics.
Douglas Bryant, Quidel CEO, said that he is more proud of the firm’s ability to come up with an accurate and rapid antigen test. He added that the test enables them to prepare health workers with a solution to coronavirus diagnosis. This hastens the time of detecting and treating coronavirus patients.
Douglas also noted that they are ramping up the ability to produce more tests from over 200,000 to over 1 million a week within several weeks.
Quidel (QDEL) Stock Performance
Upon the FDA’s approval, the antigen test is available for use and being sent to clients in the U.S. The testing kit progress has propelled a surge also in Quidel stock. Amidst the surge, however, analysts say that trades should neither buy nor sell Quidel share now. This is because the average analysts’ price target at $90 means a 40% plunge in value.
The firm’s stock at press time is trading at $205.04, a 29.28% surge. Quidel stock closed yesterday at $158.60 and opened for trading today at $189.25.
You can read more about the stocks amid coronavirus following the link.
