Idexx profits from pet boom

Article Excerpt

IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $358 is still a hold. The company (Nasdaq symbol IDXX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 83.3 million; Market cap: $29.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 8.8; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.idexx.com) makes equipment that veterinarians use to detect diseases in pets and farm animals. In the second quarter of 2022, sales rose 4.2%, to $860.5 million from $826.1 million a year earlier. That’s partly because the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for pets as more people worked from home. However, earnings dropped 30.4%, to $1.58 a share from $2.27, on new costs to license intellectual property; the company expensed those charges immediately and that cut its earnings by $0.72 a share in the quarter. The outlook for Idexx remains bright as consumers continue to spend more on their pets, particularly on preventative care. However, the stock trades at a very high 45.0 times the $7.96 a share that the company should earn for all of 2022. Idexx Laboratories is a..