Why Accuray Shares Dipped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Accuray (Nasdaq: ARAY  ) , a maker of medical radiation systems to treat tumors, fell as much as 14% today after the company reported its fourth-quarter results.

So what: For the quarter, Accuray reported a 34% rise in revenue to $100.5 million and a loss of $0.20 per share. EPS fell well short of the $0.12 loss that Wall Street had been forecasting. Accuray shipped 23 units of its proprietary CyberKnife system during the fourth quarter, of which 15 were installed. These results also include the results from TomoTherapy, which Accuray acquired last year. Looking forward, Accuray projects 2013 revenue will be in the range of $405 million-$425 million, with most of that coming in the second half of the year. Wall Street had been looking for fiscal 2013 revenue of $436.6 million.

Now what: Accuray's technology is exciting, but the rollout of its product couldn't possibly be moving any slower. To top this off, the acquisition and integration of TomoTherapy -- while under way for more than a year -- is slowing things down even further. With investors now having to wait until the second half of 2013 before sales really pick up, and with the company forecasting low-to-mid single-digit revenue growth in the upcoming year, there's no reason to be rushed into this stock. When Accuray can consistently show me the profits, then I'll give it a closer look.

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