Activist investor Jana Partners built a new stake in U.S. diagnostics company QuidelOrtho during the first quarter, sources familiar with the hedge fund’s position told Reuters.
It is unclear whether the hedge fund will seek changes at the company, which makes the popular QuickVue COVID-19 test for home use, and it could not be determined how large Jana’s stake is.
The company’s stock price, which had already been trading up roughly 1%, extended gains to roughly 10% before wiping away some of the increase. Trading closed at $44.18, up 4.92%.
A representative for Jana declined to comment and a representative for QuidelOrtho did not respond to a request for comment.
By building the position however, the hedge fund is signaling its interest in the company and that it has already committed significant resources to what could become an activist campaign.
The stake could be revealed publicly when Jana makes its 13F filing, which requires fund managers to detail their ownership in publicly traded U.S. companies for a given three-month period.
QuidelOrtho currently has a market valuation of roughly $2.8 billion and its stock price has tumbled more than 50% in the last 52 weeks. Since January the stock price has dropped 44%.
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