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Will Quidel (NASDAQ:QDEL) Become A Multi-Bagger?

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Quidel's (NASDAQ:QDEL) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Quidel is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.26 = US$203m ÷ (US$973m - US$183m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

So, Quidel has an ROCE of 26%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 9.1% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Quidel

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In the above chart we have measured Quidel's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Quidel.

How Are Returns Trending?

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Quidel. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 26%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 100%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. Effectively this means that suppliers or short-term creditors are now funding 19% of the business, which is more than it was five years ago. It's worth keeping an eye on this because as the percentage of current liabilities to total assets increases, some aspects of risk also increase.

The Bottom Line On Quidel's ROCE

To sum it up, Quidel has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these trends are being accounted for by investors. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Quidel can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

Like most companies, Quidel does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets here.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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