Those touched by influenza tend to count the days until they’re feeling better. Quidel Corp.’s shareholders likely don’t want it to end. The San Diego-based firm that focuses on rapid diagnostic assays credits the recent flu season with a huge jump in its bottom line for the first quarter, ending March 31. Revenue for the first quarter of 2013 reached $62 million, compared to $38 million in the year-ago quarter, an increase of 63 percent. Net income for the quarter was $12.4 million, or 36 cents per share. For the first quarter of 2012, net income was $50,000. “This year’s influenza season, which began earlier in the previous period, continued well into the first quarter. Demand for our respiratory products, including QuickVue, Sofia, Quidel Molecular, and Diagnostic Hybrids, remained elevated through much of February until the percentage of patient visits attributable to influenza-like illness (ILI) fell as the epidemic ebbed,” said Quidel Chief Executive Officer Douglas Bryant. The company’s stock reached a high for the year of $24.50 in mid-March but has since dropped to about $21 a share. However, four of the six stock analysts covering the company have buy recommendations on Quidel’s shares. Along with the uptick in […]
Those touched by influenza tend to count the days until they’re feeling better. Quidel Corp.’s shareholders likely don’t want it to end.
The San Diego-based firm that focuses on rapid diagnostic assays credits the recent flu season with a huge jump in its bottom line for the first quarter, ending March 31.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2013 reached $62 million, compared to $38 million in the year-ago quarter, an increase of 63 percent.
Net income for the quarter was $12.4 million, or 36 cents per share. For the first quarter of 2012, net income was $50,000.
“This year’s influenza season, which began earlier in the previous period, continued well into the first quarter. Demand for our respiratory products, including QuickVue, Sofia, Quidel Molecular, and Diagnostic Hybrids, remained elevated through much of February until the percentage of patient visits attributable to influenza-like illness (ILI) fell as the epidemic ebbed,” said Quidel Chief Executive Officer Douglas Bryant.
The company’s stock reached a high for the year of $24.50 in mid-March but has since dropped to about $21 a share. However, four of the six stock analysts covering the company have buy recommendations on Quidel’s shares.
Along with the uptick in earnings, Quidel also reported receiving Food and Drug Administration clearance to market a quick turnaround assay for C. difficile, a hospital-acquired infection that kills about 14,000 patients in the United States every year.
Nonetheless, Standard & Poor’s analyst Phillip M. Seligman remains relatively skeptical about Quidel’s future performance. He believes it will face the same headwinds hitting other laboratory operations. And Wedbush Morgan recently downgraded its stock, citing competition from other companies for molecular testing.
“Although we believe many supply categories are historically largely recession-resistant, there are concerns about demand trends in areas typically viewed as non-elective, such as basic hospital supplies, sterilization equipment, beds and stretchers, and blood collection products, that are tied to hospital spending budgets,” Seligman wrote recently. However, he added that there was an “uneven pickup” in spending beginning in 2011 and continuing through last year.
