Biosite Sets 52-Week High on Outlook
Biosite
(BSTE)
took out its 52-week high Friday after it posted a sharp rise in first-quarter earnings and said it would easily beat expectations for the rest of the year.
Biosite shares were recently up $5.81, or 13%, to $49.75 on volume of about 3.4 million shares. Average daily volume is 381,000 shares. The old 52-week high had been $44.36, while the low is $17.35.
The San Diego biotech earned $6.0 million, or 37 cents a share, on revenue of $39.9 million in the quarter, up from $1.6 million, or 11 cents a share, on revenue of $18.6 million, last year. Analysts had been forecasting earnings of 31 cents a share on average.
Based on its first-quarter outperformance, the company expects full-year EPS growth of 80% to 100%, which would result in $1.55 to $1.72 a share. The previous First Call consensus had been for earnings of $1.42 a share.
The company expects 2003 revenue growth of 60% to 80%.