Why Alere's Shares Fell

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 Alere (NYS: ALR) lost 10% of their value today after pairing a disappointing quarterly report with lowered forward guidance.

So what: Alere's revenue came in at $691.4 million, a hair over the $690.3 million analysts were looking for. However, adjusted EPS, at $0.43, was well under the $0.53 that Wall Street expected. The company said that sales of its flu products dropped, and it was also hurt by a recall of some heart attack and heart failure tests, which are really not the sort of products you would ever want to fail when you need them.

Alere also lowered its guidance for the 2012 fiscal year to a range of $2.30 to $2.45 in EPS, which is well below the analyst consensus of $2.54.

Now what: Not only did Alere miss EPS estimates, it's also come under some scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration, and has received a subpoena regarding its quality control methods for manufacturing the recalled products. With this sort of legal mess hanging over a weakened company, there seems little reason to buy. FDA concerns and recalls aren't a buying opportunity -- they're a warning.

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The article Why Alere's Shares Fell originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Alex Planes holds no financial position in any company mentioned here. Add him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter @TMFBiggles for more news and insights. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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