PerkinElmer Rises After Upgrade To 'Outperform'

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of PerkinElmer Inc. traded higher Thursday after an analyst upgraded the stock, saying its price, and Wall Street expectations, have fallen to more reasonable levels in the last two weeks.

Peter Lawson of Thomas Weisel Partners said PerkinElmer shares are now inexpensive compared with other life sciences companies, such as Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Bruker Corp. and Waters Corp. He added that expectations for the company have decreased since it cut its profit forecast on July 30, which creates less risk for the stock.

Lawson upgraded the stock to "Overweight" from "Market Weight," and raised his price target to $20 per share from $18. In morning trading, shares of the Waltham, Mass., company gained 76 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $17.62.

PerkinElmer reported lower sales in human and environmental business in the second quarter, and cut its annual outlook. It now forecasts a profit of $1.18 to $1.24 per share. Analysts expected $1.27 per share at the time, and their estimates have come down by an average of 6 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Shares have fallen 11.7 percent since then. Lawson said the company's profit may grow in 2010 as the market gets stronger and margins improve. He expects PerkinElmer to earn $1.30 per share next year, while analysts expect $1.34 on average.