Ho ho ho ho! Are you short WAT too? Here is some old (October) news fer ya!
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Quest Diagnostics, Waters shares off after results
October 20, 2000
(updates share prices, adds details)
NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Shares of diagnostic lab test provider Quest Diagnostics Inc. and Waters Corp., a maker of science lab equipment, fell on Friday after they reported earnings that beat estimates, but portions of their results concerned investors.
Quest Diagnostics <DGX> shares lost 16.18 percent of their value after the diagnostic lab testing provider's volume growth was lighter than expected, analysts said.
Quest reported higher-than-expected earnings of $28.7 million, or 60 cents a diluted share on sales of $850.2 million. First Call/Thomson Financial published consensus earnings estimates of 56 cents among Wall Street analysts.
"Volumes were lighter than estimates," CS First Boston analyst Peter Emch said about the company's results, which were reported after the market closed on Thursday. "EPS and cash flow came in above estimates."
Emch was expecting testing volumes to rise 4 percent, but they increased only 1.2 percent.
Emch said the $22-1/8 drop in the stock to $114-5/8 was probably from profit taking. The stock was trading as low as $94 on September 18 and has a 52-week low of $22-9/16 from October 26, 1999.
Waters Corp.<WAT> shares fell 8.73 percent, or $6-3/8, to $66-5/8 in late morning trading after the science lab equipment maker said its fourth-quarter and 2001 earnings could suffer if currency rates do not change. Waters shares have a 52-week high of $90-15/16 on September 28, and a 52-week low of $19 on November 5, 1999.
Waters third-quarter profits rose 27 percent to $38.2 million, or 28 cents a share, beating analysts' expectations of 27 cents.
Emch has a strong buy rating and a 12- to 18-month price target of $150 for Quest Diagnostics.
U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst William Bonello reiterated a strong buy and raised 2000 earnings per share estimates to $2.24 from $2.18, but cut revenue estimates to $3.42 billion from $3.49 billion.
The drop in Waters shares prompted Robert W. Baird & Co analyst Lawrence Neibor to raise his rating to strong buy from market outperform, while maintaining a 12-month price target of $82, a research note from the firm said.
Suggesting that Waters is showing "extreme caution" regarding Fair Disclosure regulations, Neibor said Waters management guided earnings estimates to $1.31 a share for 2001 instead of $1.37. Neibor expects to raise estimates through 2001, the research note said. |
