Neogen Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

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 food and animal safety company Neogen (NAS: NEOG) fell as much as 20% in early trading before roaring back throughout the day.

So what: The company's earnings weren't as strong as the market anticipated, with revenue climbing just 2.3% to $44.9 million versus a $47.5 million estimate. Earnings per share were $0.22, $0.04 lower than expected.

Now what: Management is expecting higher growth levels to return and is expanding sales and marketing to meet that goal. After panicking over the miss early in trading, the market bought into the plan; shares are currently down just 3%. I would like to see some actual results from the higher growth plan before buying in, especially after such a large revenue miss this quarter.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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