NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Investment firm Leerink Swann today downgraded Caliper Life Sciences to "market perform" from "outperform" saying it believes the life science tools company may be limited in its ability to exceed heightened expectations.
In an research note, analyst Dan Leonard said that while the Hopkinton, Mass.-based firm has been "appropriately credited" for surpassing revenue expectations for the past several quarters and for streamlining its product portfolio and bringing forth new product development programs, expectations for the company in 2011 will be heightened.
"Caliper's ability to similarly exceed those expectations during what we view as an integration and investment year will be more limited," Leonard said. While Caliper is expected to invest in growth areas such as molecular diagnostics and tissue imaging, he added that the firm's efforts in those markets are too early to see a positive impact.
Commenting on Caliper's recent $20 million purchase of Cambridge Research & Instrumentation, Leonard wrote that he believes the deal will add about $11 million in revenue to Caliper.
He added that he believes organic revenue growth for the company will be in the high single digits for 2011.
Leonard increased his valuation of Caliper's stock to between $6 and $6.25 from an earlier target of $5 to $5.50.
In early morning trade on the Nasdaq, Caliper's shares were down almost 6 percent to $5.64.