PerkinElmer, Inc. (PKI) announced the commercial launch of the EnLite Neonatal TREC System screening test for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) that affects roughly 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 100,000 newborns every year across the globe. Early detection of this disease caused by genetic disorder is extremely important in order to avoid higher costs and several complications due to late detection.
SCID reduces lifespan if not detected early. Its treatments include bone marrow or cord blood transplant (BMT/CBT) from a family member or donor.
The new screening test will save both time and costs in SCID detection because it doesn’t need all the steps in the workflow required in the existing laboratory tests, thereby enhances screening efficiency. The test will be introduced in select countries in Europe and the Middle East under CE marking.
Recently, PerkinElmer also introduced the early onset preeclampsia serum screening test, PreeclampsiaScreen T1, in the U.S. The test would be useful in preventing preeclampsia, a disease characterized by high blood pressure and high amounts of protein in the urine of a pregnant woman, leading to delivery of the fetus prior to 34 weeks’ gestation.
Preeclampsia is a life threatening medical condition that affects 0.5% of all pregnancies, endangering the life of both pregnant mother and the baby. It is a major contributor to maternal, fetal, and neonatal morbidity and mortality.
For a long time, PerkinElmer is dedicated in offering products and systems for prenatal clinical problems. Apart from the latest offerings, PKI has offered non-invasive prenatal test based on cell-free fetal DNA, and biochemical screening and SNP microarray testing to detect birth defects and chromosome abnormalities.
In the second quarter of the year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 51 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. However, the top line lagged the year-ago earnings of 53 cents by nearly 4%. Reported EPS fell 17.2% to 24 cents from 29 cents a year ago, mainly due to significant rise in restructuring and contract termination charges.
Revenues in the quarter rose 4.1% to $543.3 million, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $534 million. The increase was driven by improvements in both of PKI’s operating segments.
PerkinElmer expects organic revenues to increase in the low-single digit range in the year compared with 2012. PKI also expects reported earnings per share in the range of $1.40 to $1.47 and adjusted earnings per share between $2.03 and $2.10 compared with the prior guidance of $2.00 to $2.10.
PerkinElmer, Inc. is a global technology company which provides products and systems to the telecom, medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, semiconductor and photographic markets. PKI has operations in over 100 countries, and is a component of the S&P 500 Index.
Currently, other stocks that are also performing well in the medical products industry include Alere Inc. (ALR) and PLC Systems Inc. (PLCSF), both with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and diaDexus, Inc. (DDXS) with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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