Cepheid Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Cepheid (NAS: CPHD) reported earnings on Jan. 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Cepheid beat expectations on revenue and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved significantly, and GAAP earnings per share increased.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Cepheid recorded revenue of $80.1 million. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected net sales of $73.8 million. Sales were 36% higher than the prior-year quarter's $58.7 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.03. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.00 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.03 for Q4 were 263% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.02 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 51.8%, 300 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -1.7%, 480 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -2.1%, 440 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $76.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.02.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $340.6 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.26.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 237 members out of 262 rating the stock outperform, and 25 members rating it underperform. Among 77 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 73 give Cepheid a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cepheid is outperform, with an average price target of $41.23.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. 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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