Alere Shares Jumped: 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 medical diagnostic product maker Alere (NYS: ALR) jumped 10% today following a positive earnings report.

So what: Fourth-quarter revenue increased 12.5% to $651.1 million, topping estimates of $632.1 million. Earnings per share were also strong, coming in at $0.74, $0.03 better than analyst estimates.

Now what: The company did take a $383.6 million impairment charge in the quarter, leading to a $365 million GAAP loss. But estimates are usually compared to non-GAAP numbers that disregard one-time charges. Beating estimates is always good, but I would like to see results that don't include major write-offs, which added up to $1 billion in 2011.

Interested in more info on Alere? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

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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