Ahead Of The Bell: Quidel Stock Rises

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Quidel Corp., which makes flu tests, jumped in premarket trading Friday following the company's announcement that operating income and revenue in the third-quarter will beat analyst expectations.

The stock rose $1.90, or 11 percent, to $18.60 in premarket trading. Shares closed at $16.70 Thursday.

Late Thursday, the San Diego-based company said higher demand for flu tests pushed third-quarter results higher than expected. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect third-quarter profit of 8 cents per share, with $27.9 million in revenue. A Quidel spokeswoman said the company anticipates beating the average analyst profit estimate on record sales.

The company makes the QuickVue Influenza A+B test. The current record for best quarterly results was from the first quarter of 2008, when Quidel's revenue was $40.9 million and operating income was $13.6 million.

Craig-Hallum Capital analyst Steven Crowley reaffirmed an "Accumulate" rating and raised his price target to $17 from $14.

Natixis Bleichroeder Inc. analyst Ashim Anand reaffirmed a "Buy" rating, citing the results, while boosting his price target to $23 from $18.