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 TearLab (NASDAQ: TEAR), an ophthalmic (i.e., eye-related) medical device company focused on helping diagnose dry eye disease, dipped as much as 11% after the company reported its third-quarter earnings results.
So what: For the quarter, TearLab reported a whopping 247% increase in revenue to $4.2 million as it received a total of 467 orders for its proprietary TearLab Osmolarity systems for diagnosing dry eye disease. Net loss also shrank modestly to just $4.2 million, or $0.13 per share, from $4.6 million, or $0.17 per share a year ago. Both results were right in line with Wall Street's expectations.
Now what: You might be wondering, "If TearLab's results met expectations, why is it getting pounded today?" I believe the answer lies in witnessing the incredible growth of ophthalmic therapies like Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' Eylea. Investors have observed this and a number of smaller drugs to treat eye diseases prosper over the past year and have been expecting an almost unrealistic ramp-up out of TearLab. Admittedly, I would much rather wait for TearLab to get closer to profitability before even considering jumping on board, but today's move lower appears to be more a fault of investors' frothy hopes and emotions than anything TearLab had to report.
