Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: I would appreciate your opinion of Bio Reference Laboratories. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Bio Reference Laboratories, $21.28, symbol BRLI on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 27.8 million; Market cap: $591.6 million; www.bioreference.com), is the fourth-largest full-service laboratory in the U.S. and the largest in the country’s northeastern market. Its clients include clinics, hospitals, employers and government agencies. The company performs about 6.7 million lab tests a year. It collects patient specimens through its 98 service centres across the Northeast (mainly in and around New York City). Bio Reference also has a division called GeneDx, which specializes in genetic testing for rare hereditary disorders. GeneDx offers its services across the U.S. In the three months ended January 31, 2012, Bio Reference’s revenue rose 23.2%, to $149.9 million, from $121.7 million a year earlier. Without one-time items, earnings per share jumped 52.9%, to $0.26 from $0.17. There are a number of longer term trends that will continue to push up demand for the company’s services. These include an aging population, the falling cost of testing and the development of increasingly sophisticated…