Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO), Inc. BIO scaled a new 52-week high of $783.80 on Aug 16, before closing the session marginally lower at $781.98.
The company’s shares have charted a solid trajectory in recent times, appreciating 50.1% over the past year versus 10.5% growth of the industry it belongs to and 33.7% surge of the S&P 500 composite.
Over the past five years, the company registered earnings growth of 23.6% which is way ahead of the industry’s 5.8% rise and the S&P 500’s 2.8% increase.
At present, Bio-Rad operates under two business segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company delivered solid top-and bottom-line growth in the second quarter of 2021. The company witnessed strong constant currency and year-over-year revenue growth across both its reporting segments. The uptick in the Clinical Diagnostics arm driven by the ongoing recovery across product lines in all regions during the reported quarter is encouraging as well. A strong solvency position bodes well for the stock.
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Let’s delve deeper.
Key Drivers
Q2 Upsides: Bio-Rad exited the second quarter of 2021 on an extremely bullish note with better-than-expected revenues and earnings. Its second-quarter 2021 earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 86.3%. The company witnessed solid top-and bottom-line growth in the quarter under review. The strong constant currency and year-over-year revenue growth across both of its operating segments contributed to the top-line growth. Expansion of operating margin buoys optimism for the stock. The raised 2021 revenue guidance is indicative of continuation of this bullish trend.
Segmental Growth: The market is upbeat about Bio-Rad’s impressive segmental performance in the second quarter of 2021.The company’s Life Science segment witnessed sales growth of 32.6% at CER and reported growth of 27.1%. Growth at CER was primarily driven by rise in demand for qPCR, Western Blotting, Droplet Digital PCR and Process Media products. The company witnessed strong growth in the biopharma market for the Droplet Digital PCR platform along with a healthy uptake for ddPCR in wastewater solutions. Further, Bio-Rad’s Clinical diagnostics segment grew 28% at CER and 34.3% on a reported basis driven by recovery in routine testing.
Clinical Diagnostics Continues to Gain Momentum: Bio-Rad’s clinical diagnostics arm registered double-digit growth across all product lines in the second quarter of 2021. In a geographic basis, the diagnostics group’s currency-neutral year-over-year sales grew across all regions. We are optimistic about the company’s recent partnership with Seegene to provide diagnostic testing products to U.S. markets. Other notable launches in this segment include the PREvalence ddPCR SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Quantification Kit to detect SARS-CoV-2 in a community’s wastewater, molecular qPCR and ddPCR instruments and assays, antibody tests, quality controls, and ddPCR assays to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.
Strong Solvency: Bio-Rad exited the second quarter of 2021 with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $1.17 billion compared with $1.02 billion at the end of first-quarter 2021. Meanwhile, total debt (including current maturities) at the end of the second quarter was $12.5 million. This figure is much lower than the quarter-end cash and cash equivalent, and investments level, indicating good news in terms of solvency position, especially during the year of economic downturn. This implies that the company is holding sufficient cash for debt repayment.
Downsides
Economic Uncertainty: Bio-Rad’s business is largely dependent on global economic conditions. The company is exposed to the risk of a slowdown in China economy along with some other emerging markets, particularly the oil-producing nations. The company is also closely monitoring the potential adverse impacts on its business following the U.K.'s decision to exit the European Union. Further, macroeconomic woes stemming from the coronavirus pandemic are other concerns for the company.
Difficult Pricing Scenario: Bio-Rad is exposed to the effects of changes in the healthcare industry in the United States and Europe. The changing trend toward managed care, healthcare reform of the delivery system in the United States, efforts to reform in Europe along with increasing consolidations among healthcare providers have resulted in increased pricing burden.
Zacks Rank and Other Key Picks
Currently, Bio-Rad carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
A few other top-ranked stocks from the Medical-Products industry include VAREX IMAGING VREX, Envista Holdings (NYSE:NVST) Corporation NVST and BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR), Inc. BRBR.
VAREX, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has a long-term earnings growth rate of 5%.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Envista Holdings, sporting a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 26.8%.
BellRing Brands, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 25.3%.
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