Quidel Corp. shares rose 36 percent on Monday afterLadenburg Thalmann analyst Louis Ehrenkrantz recommendedthe San Diego diagnostic company's stock on a television newsprogram after Friday's market close.

The shares (NASDAQ:QDEL) gained $1.88 to $7.13.

Ehrenkrantz, who said he specializes in securities that arenot widely followed or misunderstood, told BioWorld that therecommendation on "The Nightly Business Report" was his firstof a biotech company since he recommended Amgen Inc. two-and-a-half years ago.

"The interesting thing about Quidel to me is that it's the last ofthe publicly held diagnostic companies," said Ehrenkrantz. "Allthe rest, like Hybritech and Genetic Systems, have beenswallowed up."

Last Thursday, Quidel announced it has received FDA approvalto market its Conceive one-step ovulation predictor.Ehrenkrantz predicted the company will have earnings of about5 cents a share for the fiscal year ending March 31, and shoulddouble those figures next year. -- KB

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