Shares of Affymetrix Inc. (AFFX) scaled a 52-week high of $10.14 on Dec 26 and closed at $10.07, representing a healthy year-to-date return of approximately 14.4%, better than the S&P 500’s return of 12.6% over the same period. Meanwhile, average volume of shares traded over the last three months stands at approximately 697.33K.
The bullish run reflects strong top-line growth, lucrative launches and accretive partnerships.
Affymetrix reported better-than-expected third-quarter 2014 results. Earnings of 8 cents per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents. On an average, the company has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by approximately 53% over the last four quarters.
Notably, this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock has a market cap of $740.6 million.
Key Growth Catalysts
Affymetrix reported revenues of $87.1 million in the last concluded quarter, which managed to comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top-line growth can be primarily attributed to a robust performance at Service and other businesses, which surged 62% on a year-over-year basis.
In addition, a series of positive developments have driven growth at the company. Recently, eBioscience, an Affymetrix business, announced the availability of PrimeFlow RNA Assay, a cytometry assay capable of simultaneous detection of RNA and protein within millions of cells at single-cell resolution.
Also recently, Affymetrix announced the launch of Concurrent Molecular Analysis Profiling (CoMAP) capability. The new functionality aids cancer researchers to gain rapid insight into the functional impact of DNA copy number alterations.
Affymetrix also managed to garner investor confidence through a number of strategic agreements. The company recently entered into partnerships with Ariosa Diagnostics, Toshiba Corp. and the Binding Site Group. All these partnerships are expected to better the long-term prospects of the company.
Moreover, the positive trends are expected to help Affymetrix fight stiff competition from Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO), Illumina (ILMN) and Agilent Technologies (A).
Estimate Revisions
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2014 has increased 39% to 25 cents over the past 60 days, reflecting year-over-year growth of 150%. On the other hand, the estimate for 2015 has jumped 35% to 27 cents over the same time frame, highlighting 9% growth on a year-over-year basis.
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