NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Shares of PerkinElmer climbed just above 15 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange following its announcement after the close of the market yesterday of strong first-quarter results.
PerkinElmer’s shares climbed as high as 20 percent to $27.25 during the trading session before settling back to $26.18 in the afternoon.
The firm reported revenues of $511.5 million for the quarter ended Dec. 30, 2007 — a 20 percent gain on its fourth-quarter revenues the year before. PerkinElmer also said that its quarterly profit jumped 26 percent to $52.6 million, or $.44 per share, which beat Wall Street estimates.
The firm’s shares rose after a couple of analysts published positive research notes on PerkinElmer, citing potential revenue growth from new products and acquisitions. The company recently spent around $300 million to acquire ViaCell, a Cambridge, Mass.-based specialty stem cell company.
PerkinElmer officials predicted during an October conference call that with the acquisition of ViaCell, the firm would grow its genetic screening revenue to around $500 million by 2010, up from roughly $270 million from the combined businesses of PerkinElmer and ViaCell in 2007.
Last month, PerkinElmer said it would buy Pediatrix Medical’s newborn metabolic screening business for an undisclosed amount.