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What: Shares of diagnostic equipment provider Cepheid
So what: For the quarter, Cepheid was able to grow sales by 36% on the back of a 54% jump in system sales and a 32% rise in reagent and disposable products. It also sold 175 GeneXpert DNA detection systems to commercial clinical businesses during the quarter. This all translated into a $0.14 quarterly profit (excluding one-time items) and sales of $80.1 million, which compares to the loss of $0.01 on revenue of $73.8 million that Wall Street had been looking for. 2012 guidance also came in ahead of schedule with Cepheid forecasting a profit range of $0.55 to $0.60 with sales of $333 million to $347 million. Wall Street expectations were for $0.41 and $334.2 million.
Now what: Shareholders certainly have every reason to be excited this week. Earlier in the week, Roche offered $5.7 billion to buy Illumina
Craving more input? Start by adding Cepheid to your free and personalized watchlist so you can keep track of the latest news with the company.