Price jump adds to Idexx’s risk

Article Excerpt

IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $120 (Nasdaq symbol IDXX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 89.7 million; Market cap: $10.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.2; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.idexx.com) makes equipment that veterinarians use to detect diseases in pets. It also makes systems that detect contaminants in livestock and water. The company continues to see strong demand for its Catalyst One system, which analyzes an animal’s blood in 15 minutes. As a result, Idexx earned $0.62 a share in the third quarter of 2016, up 29.2% from $0.48 a year earlier. Sales rose 10.3%, to $448.3 million from $406.4 million. The company will probably earn $2.38 a share for all of 2016. But the stock has gained 74% in the past year and trades at a high 50.4 times that forecast. Idexx is still a hold. hold…