Genomic Health Shares Fall, 1st Qtr Meets Forecast

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Genomic Health Inc. fell Wednesday, despite the company's better-than-expected first-quarter results as revenue from its Oncotype DX breast cancer test jumped.

The clinical diagnostic test developer saw shares fall $2.84, or 12.1 percent, to $20.66 in afternoon trading Wednesday, though shares are up 21 percent in the year to date. But late Tuesday, Genomic Health reported a narrower first-quarter loss, mainly on better sales of Oncotype DX.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based company lost $4.4 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with a loss of $6.6 million, or 24 cents per share, in the same quarter a year prior. Revenue rose 45 percent to $33.9 million from $23.4 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 17 cents per share on revenue of $33.8 million, on average.

Revenue from Oncotype totaled $33.4 million, marking a 43 percent boost from a year ago. The lab test is used to predict the likelihood of breast cancer. The company delivered 11,210 test results in the first quarter of 2009, a 23 percent increase from a year prior.