What happened?
Shares of Quidel (QDEL +0.00%) are up by 4.7% as of 10:43 a.m. EDT on Thursday, after jumping by as much as 11.6% earlier today. The catalyst for these gains was the company's release of preliminary top-line results for the third quarter.
So what
For the third quarter, Quidel expects its revenue to be between $475 million and $477 million. This would represent a year-over-year increase of roughly 276% at the midpoint. Quidel Corporation's revenue for the third quarter is also set to come in well ahead of the $394.28 million analysts were expecting. Why is the company's revenue soaring? In a few words, it's because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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Quidel manufactures diagnostics healthcare products, and its services have been in high demand amid the outbreak.
"The entire team at Quidel has truly risen to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, producing and shipping millions of tests to those with the greatest need," CEO Douglas Bryant said, "and further democratizing testing by providing affordable rapid testing to tens of thousands of communities throughout the United States." The company will release its full results in late October.
Now what
Thanks to its COVID-19 efforts and strong financial results, Quidel's stock has been on fire of late; year to date, shares of the healthcare company are up by 199%, while the S&P 500 is up by a comparatively modest 4.72%. Quidel will likely continue significantly outperforming the market, at least until the crisis subsides.
