Given the steady need for emergency and surgical transfusions, it's imperative that routine blood bank tests be performed quickly and accurately. A leading maker of systems that automate such work is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia.
Immucor (NASDAQ: BLUD) provides automated systems used by hospitals, clinical laboratories and blood banks to detect and identify certain properties of the cell and serum components of human blood, prior to transfusion. Products are primarily used to type blood and detect foreign antibodies. The firm received FDA clearance for its third-generation automated analyzer, the Galileo Echo, in June of this year.
The company made the news last week, reporting fiscal Q1 EPS of 25 cents and revenues of $63.6 million. Analysts had been expecting 22 cents and $59.8 million. It was the sixteenth straight quarter of sequential revenue increases for Immucor. Robert W. Baird subsequently reiterated its "outperform" rating on the shares. BLUD popped into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern on the news. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.
Altogether, brokers recommend the issue with one "strong buy" and three "buys." Analysts see a 22% average annual growth rate through the next five years. The BLUD Sales Growth rate (24.61%), EPS Growth rate (38.89%), Operating Margin (41.87%), Net Profit Margin (27.55%), Return on Assets (25.73%), Return on Investment (30.45%) and Return on Equity (33.21%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 88 percent of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 600 SmallCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $23.73 and $39.96. A stop-loss of $33.75 looks good here.
Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.
Nuclear power is on the comeback trail
Apple backs AT&T in continuing spat with Verizon
Closing Bell: The recession is still over, still... do you feel it?
