NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – NanoString Technologies today announced preliminary revenue growth of up to 15 percent for the fourth quarter of 2016.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, the Seattle-based firm expects total revenue in the range of $24.2 million to $25.7 million, compared to $22.3 million in the prior-year period. Collaboration revenue accounted for $4.5 million to $5.5 million of total revenue.
In a statement, NanoString CEO Brad Gray said those figures were disappointing. "Revenue for the fourth quarter came in below our expectations as academic sales were soft, and biopharma sales did not benefit from year-end spending as much as in past years," he said. Analysts had, on average, estimated Q4 revenues of approximately $29.1 million.
Still, he said the firm "achieved our strategic objectives and laid the groundwork for continued growth."
NanoString reported full-year total revenue in the range of $85.5 million to $87 million, up as much as 39 percent compared to $62.7 million in 2015, but short of prior guidance of $89 million to $93 million. Collaboration revenue represented $17 million to $18 million of total revenue.
The results fell short of the consensus analyst estimate of $90.6 million in revenues for the year.
The firm sold approximately 140 nCounter Analysis instruments in 2016, including 60 of its new nCounter Sprint Profilers, and grew its installed base to approximately 480 nCounter analyzers.
NanoString ended the year with cash, cash equivalents, and investments of approximately $75.0 million.
In morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of NanoString were down almost 18 percent at $18.90.