Many of the nation’s publicly traded laboratories are confronting flat earnings and a difficult reimbursement environment. And while some stocks have caught the same momentum that has lifted the markets through much of 2013, others are struggling to gain traction. According to the G2 Intelligence stock index, four of the eight stocks charted have seen increases during 2013. The overall non-weighted average price increase for all the labs is about 6.2 percent. In comparison, the Standard & Poor’s index is up about 9 percent for the first of 2013, and the Nasdaq composite is up almost 10 percent. Gainers Neogenomics (Fort Myers, Fla.) has risen more than 50 percent, from less than $2.50 a share at the end of 2012 to more than $4 a share as of the end of June. Although its first-quarter revenue was flat, its test volume grew by 19 percent. LabCorp (Burlington, N.C.) has risen 15.6 percent since the start of 2013, with its stock rising from below $88 a share to more than $100 a share as of late June. Genomic Health (Redwood City, Calif.) has also posted healthy price gains. The company was trading at around $32 a share, up from $27 a […]
Many of the nation’s publicly traded laboratories are confronting flat earnings and a difficult reimbursement environment. And while some stocks have caught the same momentum that has lifted the markets through much of 2013, others are struggling to gain traction.
According to the G2 Intelligence stock index, four of the eight stocks charted have seen increases during 2013. The overall non-weighted average price increase for all the labs is about 6.2 percent. In comparison, the Standard & Poor’s index is up about 9 percent for the first of 2013, and the Nasdaq composite is up almost 10 percent.
Gainers
Neogenomics (Fort Myers, Fla.) has risen more than 50 percent, from less than $2.50 a share at the end of 2012 to more than $4 a share as of the end of June. Although its first-quarter revenue was flat, its test volume grew by 19 percent.
LabCorp (Burlington, N.C.) has risen 15.6 percent since the start of 2013, with its stock rising from below $88 a share to more than $100 a share as of late June.
Genomic Health (Redwood City, Calif.) has also posted healthy price gains. The company was trading at around $32 a share, up from $27 a share at the start of the year, a gain of about 18 percent. The company has announced a variety of new genetic tests for cancer in recent months.
Quest Diagnostics (Madison, N.J.) has risen marginally during 2013, starting the year at around $58 a share and ending the first half of the year at around $60 a share. It peaked in early June at just over $63 a share but has since slipped back. Some analysts are taking a wait-and-see view on Quest’s recent restructuring.
Minor Gain or Loss in Value
Bio-Reference Laboratories (Elmwood Park, N.J.) has seen its stock remain essentially unchanged from the start of 2013 at $29 a share. It topped $31 a share in January but has since declined. That’s despite reporting strong first-quarter earnings.
Psychemedics (Acton, Mass.) is in the same situation as Bio-Reference, with its stock essentially unchanged since the start of the year, trading at around $10.75 a share. It topped $12 a share in February, but even a good quarterly earnings report has not moved the stock up.
Myriad Genetics (Salt Lake City) started 2013 trading at around $27 a share and is currently trading in the $26.50 per share range. The company suffered a significant blow when the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated its patents on nonaltered genetic materials, the key to its BRCA tests. Its stock quickly dropped from $34 a share in mid-June almost immediately after the ruling.
Major Loss in Value
Enzo Biochem (New York City) is the only stock in the index to have lost significant value in 2013. It was trading at around $2.75 a share at the start of 2013 and ends the half at around $2 a share, a loss of more than 37 percent. Revenue was mostly flat for 2012, and it posted a large loss for the year as well.
