Beckman Coulter In Line With Guidance, Jefferies & Company Reports

Although Beckman Coulter, Inc. BEC remains a substantial player in the central lab, “we have concerns about the macro backdrop and management's ability to blunt the impact of Troponin (TnI) missteps and prevent the fire from spreading to allied clinical segments,” Jefferies & Company reports. “Given the company's slowing sales and estimated EPS growth rate of 9%–10%, we believe BEC should trade below the mid-point of the IVD P/E band, or at 11X our CY11 EPS estimate of $4.25, corresponding to a $47 price target,” Jefferies & Company writes. “Risks include higher attrition rates, slower-than-expected recovery in the Life Sciences market, weakness in hospital capex, integration of Olympus, and development of future products. Beckman Coulter, Inc. currently trades at $4.57.