Barclays analyst Jack Meehan lowered his price target for Quidel to $77 from $85 but recommends using Friday's selloff as a buying opportunity. Many investors expect Quidel to ultimately prevail in the August 2019 case given the history of the contract and relationship, and this motion was expected to be dismissed, Meehan tells investors in a research note. He believes that while Friday's news "adds a new wrinkle to the dispute," the risks related to the BNP litigation are now fully reflected in valuation and keeps an Overweight rating on Quidel.

Canaccord analyst Mark Massaro lowered his price target on Quidel to $70 from $80 and recommends investors buy shares on weakness after a judge from the Superior Court of San Diego ruled in summary judgement that a provision in the Beckman/Quidel deal restricting Beckman's ability to commercialize an alternative BNP or NT-Pro BNP assay was void. In a research note to investors, Massaro says that while Quidel will likely bear an ear-term legal overhang, he views the ~22% plunge in shares since Friday as "overblown," in part since the precedent "Edwards" case that the judge referenced in the Beckman-Quidel case appears "inappropriate"; Quidel is appealing this case; and the time it would take Beckman to realistically compete against Quidel is about 2-5 years.

Canaccord analyst Mark Massaro introduced his top picks for 2019 in the Diagnostics and Tools space as he expects new tests will generate clinical and economic utility to patients and payors, which will pace positive returns in 2019. His top picks include Illumina (ILMN) with a $375 price target, Exact Sciences (EXAS) with an $87 price target, Heska (HSKA) with a $123 target, Natera (NTRA) with a $25 target, OraSure (OSUR) with an $18 target and Quidel (QDEL) with a $70 price target.