PACKARD BIOSCIENCE. 3 AUGUST ZAHLEN.!!!! fusion - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[manu99]

ICH SAGE BIS DEZ, ZIEL 80$
GERÜCHT.FUSION MIT AGILENT TECH??
ZAHLEN SOLLEN POSITIVE SEIN.

WER weiss mehr?? manu.

[Mr.Keating]

danke manu99 für die Mitteillungen über diesen Wert,

habe leider keine Informationen ; will aber hiermit mein wohlwollen gegenüber dieser Firma
äußern ; Meiner Meinung nach verspricht die niedrige Bewertung viel Kurspotenziel ;
außerdem werden die Zahlen aufgrung von Umsatzbeteiligungen und Lizenzeinnahmen
dieses gesamte Jahr aber vorallem 2001 sehr positiv ausfallen.

P.S. Hoffe es schließen sich mehr Interessierte an

[wilhelm123]

Hier ein paar Infos über Packard Bioscience von Merrill Lynch. Leider etwas älter (16.05.2000) aber doch ganz interessant.


Price: $12 ¾
12 Month Price Objective: $20
Estimates (Dec) 1999A* 2000E* 2001E
EPS: $0.07 $0.13 $0.23
P/E: 182.1x 98.1x 55.4x
EPS Change (YoY): 85.7% 76.9%
Q2 EPS (Jun): $0.06 $0.02
Cash Flow/Share: $0.28 $0.29 $0.40
Price/Cash Flow: 45.5x 44.0x 31.9x
Dividend Rate: Nil Nil Nil
Dividend Yield: Nil Nil Nil
Opinion & Financial Data
Investment Opinion: D-1-1-9
Mkt. Value / Shares Outstanding (mn): $752 / 59
Price/Book Ratio: NM
LT Liability % of Capital: 16.4%
Est. 5 Year EPS Growth: 30.0%
Stock Data
***3-Week Range: $12 1/4-$8 3/4
Symbol / Exchange: PBSC / OTC
Options: None
Institutional Ownership-Spectrum: NA
ML Industry Weightings & Ratings**
Strategy; Weighting Rel. to Mkt.:
Income: In Line (07-Mar-1995)
Growth: Overweight (07-Mar-1995)
Income & Growth: Overweight (07-Mar-1995)
Capital Appreciation: Overweight (28-May-1993)
Market Analysis; Technical Rating: Above Average (28-Mar-2000)
**The views expressed are those of the macro department and do not
necessarily coincide with those of the Fundamental analyst.
For full investment opinion definitions, see footnotes.
• Excludes non-recurring items.
• *** Range is since 4/19/00 IPO.
Investment Highlights:
• We rate Packard BioScience at Buy for both
the intermediate and longer terms.
• We think PBSC’s valuation is attractive
relative to such comparable companies as
Waters or Agilent. We now think the share
price could reach $20 in the next 12 months.
• In our opinion, given the high leverage and
limited float, PBSC is best suited for small
cap, growth-oriented investors.
Fundamental Highlights:
• Q1 results were good. EPS of $0.02, vs. $0.03,
were a little better than expected.
• Organic sales growth, in local currencies, was
a little better than expected in both life
sciences and nuclear detection.
• These results, first as a public company, give
us even more confidence in our forecasts.
Continue with our 2000 EPS estimate of $0.13,
vs. $0.07 and 2001 estimate of $0.23.
Comment
United States
Process Controls
16 May 2000
Donna G. Takeda, CFA
Director Packard BioScience Co.
Good Q1 Results BUY
Long Term
BUY Reason for Report: Reported Q1
Merrill Lynch & Co.
Global Securities Research & Economics Group
Global Fundamental Equity Research Department
RC#20113749.Packard BioScience Co. – 16 May 2000
(Continued)
2
Good Start to the Year
Packard BioScience reported Q1 EPS that were a little
better than expected, at $0.02, vs. $0.01 excluding non-recurring
items. This was the company’s first report as a
company with public equity, although the results are for
the period before the April 19 IPO.
Sales came in $200K above our estimates, at $62.5
million, up 6.4% from last year`s $58.7 million. Sales in
both Packard Instrument and Canberra Industries were
slightly better than expected. Unfavorable currency
exchange rates reduced sales by approximately 250 b.p. In
addition, the revenue comparison is difficult because last
year’s Q1 includes about $3.2 million from product lines
that were subsequently sold or terminated. Excluding that
from the comparison, growth was 12.6%.
Gross margins, at 51.4% vs. 49.5%, were better than
expected. This was partially offset by higher ratios in
R&D and SG&A, as the company ramps up investments to
finish the development of new products that are in late
stages of completion, and for applications specialists to
enhance the selling and marketing efforts. As expected,
EBIT margins of 12.0% vs.12.8% were lower than a year
ago because of the R&D increase, but they were above our
11.6% estimate.
Segments
Packard Instrument (64% of Q1 sales): Q1 revenue was
$39.9 million, which was up 4.5% from last year`s $38.2
million. On an organic basis (i.e., if we exclude from
99/Q1 revenue product lines that were sold or terminated),
sales grew 13.7%. Exchange rates reduced revenue by
about $900K. Some of the surprise came from Y2K-related
services that appeared in 00/Q1, as well as growth
in some older, core product lines that we had expected to
decline in Q1. Customer reception of new Windows-based
versions of the more mature lines is better than expected.
The fastest growth in Q1 was at CCS Packard (automation)
and in liquid handling systems, which together grew at a
36% rate. Gross margins were 56.1%, vs. 54.5%, largely
because of the favorable mix.
Canberra (36% of Q1 sales): Q1 revenue was $22.5
million, vs. $20.5 million, for a 10.2% increase; exchange
rates reduced reported revenue by about $600K. Most of
the growth came from new consulting service contracts
with the U.S. Department of Energy. Gross margins
improved from 40.5% in 99/Q1 to 42.9% in the most
recent period.
Annual Estimates Look Good
This good start to the year reinforce our confidence in our
full year estimates. We continue to estimate full year 2000
EPS at $0.13, which is nearly double the $0.07 earned in
1999. Both years` figures exclude non-recurring items.
We now estimate full year sales at $285.5-$286.0 million,
which is up nearly 8% from last year`s $264.9 million.
Organic, local currency-based growth should be a little
higher than we had been thinking, but we prefer to include
a little more currency impact given the current weakness of
the Euro.
For Q2, we estimate EPS, ex non-recurring items, to be
$0.02 vs. $0.06. The decline is mainly because of the
higher R&D this year vs. last. Interest expense should be
above last year, although down on a sequential basis. The
company has already paid off $68.2 million of its senior
debt with some of its IPO proceeds. Both periods exclude
non-recurring items.
For 2001, we continue to estimate EPS at $0.23, which
would be 71% above our $0.13 estimate for this year. We
look for sales to grow by 13%-14%, to $324-$325 million,
which assumes Packard Instrument`s sales grow by about
17% and Canberra`s by about 8%. Packard Instrument`s
operating margins should improve vs. this year, while
Canberra`s narrow somewhat. The latter relates to the
expected mix of revenue; margins on the consulting
services, which is likely to grow significantly faster than
instrument sales, are narrower than on products. At
Packard Instrument, we expect R&D growth to more
closely resemble its revenue growth, compared with the
36% increase we are estimating for 2000..Packard BioScience Co. – 16 May 2000

Source: Packard BioScience Company; Merrill Lynch & Co. estimates. Excludes non-recurring items.
[PBSC] MLPF&S was a manager of the most recent public offering of securities of this company within the last three years.
[PBSC] The securities of the company are not listed but trade over-the-counter in the United States. In the US, retail sales and/or distribution of this report may be made only in states where these securities are exempt from
registration or have been qualified for sale. MLPF&S or its affiliates usually make a market in the securities of this company.
Opinion Key [X-a-b-c]: Investment Risk Rating(X): A - Low, B - Average, C - Above Average, D - High. Appreciation Potential Rating (a: Int. Term - 0-12 mo.; b: Long Term - >1 yr.): 1 - Buy, 2 - Accumulate, 3 - Neutral, 4 -Reduce,
5 - Sell, 6 - No Rating. Income Rating(c): 7 - Same/Higher, 8 - Same/Lower, 9 - No Cash Dividend.
Copyright 2000 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (MLPF&S). All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use or disclosure is prohibited. This report has been prepared and issued by MLPF&S and/or one of its
affiliates and has been approved for publication in the United Kingdom by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Limited, which is regulated by SFA; has been considered and distributed in Australia by Merrill Lynch Equities
(Australia) Limited (ACN 006 276 795), a licensed securities dealer under the Australian Corporations Law; is distributed in Hong Kong by Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Ltd, which is regulated by the Hong Kong SFC; and is distributed
in Singapore by Merrill Lynch International Bank Ltd (Merchant Bank) and Merrill Lynch (Singapore) Pte Ltd, which are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The information herein was obtained from various sources;
we do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Additional information available.
Neither the information nor any opinion expressed constitutes an offer, or an invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any securities or any options, futures or other derivatives related to such securities ("related investments").
MLPF&S and its affiliates may trade for their own accounts as odd-lot dealer, market maker, block positioner, specialist and/or arbitrageur in any securities of this issuer(s) or in related investments, and may be on the opposite side
of public orders. MLPF&S, its affiliates, directors, officers, employees and employee benefit programs may have a long or short position in any securities of this issuer(s) or in related investments. MLPF&S or its affiliates may from
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person who may receive this report. Investors should seek financial advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in any securities or investment strategies discussed or recommended in this report and should understand that
statements regarding future prospects may not be realized. Investors should note that income from such securities, if any, may fluctuate and that each security’s price or value may rise or fall. Accordingly, investors may receive
back less than originally invested. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.
Foreign currency rates of exchange may adversely affect the value, price or income of any security or related investment mentioned in this report. In addition, investors in securities such as ADRs, whose values are influenced
by the currency of the underlying security, effectively assume currency risk.

[wilhelm123]

hier sind weitere Infos

Price: $11
12 Month Price Objective: $15
Estimates (Dec) 1999A 2000E 2001E
EPS: $0.07 $0.13 $0.23
P/E: 157.1x 84.6x 45.8x
EPS Change (YoY): 85.7% 77.0%
Q1 EPS (Mar): $0.03 $0.01
Cash Flow/Share: $0.28 $0.29 $0.40
Price/Cash Flow: 39.3x 37.9x 25.3x
Dividend Rate: Nil Nil Nil
Dividend Yield: Nil Nil Nil
Opinion & Financial Data
Investment Opinion: D-1-1-9
Mkt. Value / Shares Outstanding (mn): $653.4 / 59.4
Book Value/Share (Dec-1999): NM
Price/Book Ratio: NM
ROE 2000E Average: NM
LT Liability % of Capital: 164%*
Est. 5 Year EPS Growth: 30%
Stock Data
52-Week Range:
Symbol / Exchange: PBSC / OTC
Options: None
Institutional Ownership-Spectrum: NA
ML Industry Weightings & Ratings**
Strategy; Weighting Rel. to Mkt.:
Income: In Line (07-Mar-1995)
Growth: Overweight (07-Mar-1995)
Income & Growth: Overweight (07-Mar-1995)
Capital Appreciation: Overweight (28-May-1993)
Market Analysis; Technical Rating: Above Average (28-Mar-2000)
**The views expressed are those of the macro department and do not
necessarily coincide with those of the Fundamental analyst.
For full investment opinion definitions, see footnotes.
*12/31/99 value pro forma for 4/19/00 IPO.
Investment Highlights:
• We are initiating coverage of PBSC, a leading
instrumentation supplier, with intermediate-and
long-term Buy ratings. In its April 19
IPO, it sold 12 million shares at $9.
• PBSC’s valuation is attractive relative to such
comparable companies as Waters or Agilent.
We think the share price could double in the
next 12-18 months, and the $15 midpoint
would be a good starting point for a 12-month
objective.
• In our opinion, given the high leverage and
limited float, PBSC is best suited for small
cap, growth-oriented investors.
Fundamental Highlights:
• PBSC’s 4/19 IPO is a key evolutionary step.
The ability to redirect the P&L from an LBO
focus to a top line growth focus comes at an
opportune time – at the early stages of ramp-up
of applied genomics research and related
disease and drug discovery.
• PBSC’s acceleration in R&D should propel
sales growth to the mid/high teens. Pretax
margins should widen, reflecting lower
interest expense; EPS growth should exceed
30% at least for the next five years.
Comment
United States
Process Controls
15 May 2000
Donna G. Takeda, CFA
Director Packard BioScience Co.
New Life for A Well-Established Supplier BUY
Long Term
BUY Reason for Report: Initial Opinion
Merrill Lynch & Co.
Global Securities Research & Economics Group
Global Fundamental Equity Research Department
RC#20113609
Stock Performance
8.8
9.2
9.6
10.0
10.4
10.8
11.2
11.6
12.0
0.0062
0.0064
0.0066
0.0068
0.0070
0.0072
0.0074
0.0076
0.0078
0.0080
0.0082
0.0084
1997 1998 1999 2000
Packard Bioscience Co.
Rel to S&P Composite Index (500) (Right Scale)ഊPackard BioScience Co. – 15 May 2000
(Continued)
2
Initiating Coverage of PBSC
We are initiating coverage of Packard BioScience Co. with
intermediate- and long-term Buy ratings. PBSC is a
leading supplier of instruments, automation, consumables
and services used in life sciences research and nuclear
radiation detection. Sales in 1999 were $265 million. It has
two principal subsidiaries: Packard Instrument, a leader in
life science research tools (1999 revenue $159 million,
60% of total); and Canberra Industries (1999 revenue $106
million, 40% of total), the world’s leader in nuclear
radiation detection. In 1997, the company leveraged its
balance sheet in an ownership change. It has 1,446
employees, and is headquartered in Meriden, CT.
Upside – and Challenges
REASONS TO BUY:
Opportunity to participate in one of the world’s fastest
growing markets through a leading supplier. Packard
Instrument is a leading supplier of instruments,
automation, and chemistries to high throughput drug
discovery and genomics research. It has an installed base
of 25,000 instruments, and 400 sales and service people
around the world supporting its life sciences customers,
which include the world’s 50 largest pharmaceutical and
biotech companies, as well as major university and
government research facilities.
Accelerating growth: The combination of new products
and new service capabilities for its existing installed base
and new customers, as well as strong market growth
should propel PBSC’s sales and EPS growth rates over the
next five years to 20% and 30%+, respectively.
Productivity: PBSC’s productivity-oriented solutions are
appealing to customers as they search for faster, more
productive, cost-effective analytical methods in life
sciences market and nuclear radiation monitoring
Improving capital structure provides flexibility: The
reduction of debt with the IPO proceeds enables P&L
focus to shift from interest expense to R&D and other
growth-oriented initiatives.
Seasoned management team: The management team has
worked together for most of the time since Chairman/CEO
Emery Olcott founded it in 1965.
RISKS:
Rapid pace of market changes with many emerging
competitors: Research techniques in the drug discovery
market, as well as genomics and proteomics research, are
changing rapidly because of emerging developments in the
research tool technologies—and attendant new suppliers.
We think PBSC’s installed base, its excellent reputation
with its customers, and its worldwide sales and service
network provide it with significant competitive advantages
against start-ups that lack these attributes.
Nuclear market participation: The phrase “nuclear
radiation” tends to carry a fair amount of emotional
weight. However, we believe Canberra offers one of the
more rational ways to think about this area. The best
defense against problems at a nuclear facility is good
monitoring and data analysis to ensure the safety of the
facility. Canberra provides the enabling technology and
service capability to do this.
Leverage: The company’s interest expense and balance
sheet reflect the high debt and low shareholders’ equity of
the company’s leveraged recapitalization. However, cash
flows are healthy, and the company could be debt-free if it
sold Canberra.
Newness as a U.S. public company: Managements of new
public companies can have difficulty in adjusting to the
focus on quarterly results. Packard, however, has been
reporting on a quarterly basis since 1997. Further, because
of the leverage, financial controls have been a major
consideration in the operations of this company.
Exposure to currency exchange rate trends: Two-thirds
of sales are outside the U.S., so changes in exchange rates
can exert a short-term impact on results. However, not all
sales outside the U.S. are priced in local currencies; some
priced in U.S. dollars. Also, the company has operating
expenses and interest expense denominated in non-dollar
currencies. The latter factors, plus some hedging of inter-company
transactions, tend to reduce the currency impact.
Limited float: Only the 12 million shares from the IPO, or
approximately 15% of the total, are freely trading.
IPO: the next step in the evolution
Packard’s chairman and CEO Emery Olcott founded
Canberra Industries in 1965. It acquired Packard
Instrument from United Technologies in 1987. In 1997, the
company changed its name to Packard BioScience, in
recognition of the strategic direction it chose to take. The
two businesses operate autonomously; the common ground
is the top management and corporate infrastructure.
At the time of the acquisition, Packard’s instrumentation
focused on radioisotopic analytical techniques, which are a
staple in life sciences research for such tasks as drug
metabolism studies. But the life science market developed
a preference for non-isotopic analysis, and Packard began
to develop products using other detection methods.
In 1997, Canberra bought back a significant equity stake
held by the French government and issued $150 million of
9.375% senior subordinated notes, due 3/31/07, in a public
offering; also, Stonington Partners acquired 57.4% of the
shares. The notes are redeemable beginning 3/1/02 at
prices ranging from $104.688% to 100.000%. The
company has been filing 10-Qs and 10-Ks with the SEC
for the past three years. On April 19, 2000, PBSC
completed its initial public offering, selling 12.0 million
shares at $9.00 per share. Proceeds were approximately
$114 million, with which the company expects to repayഊPackard BioScience Co. – 15 May 2000
3
$70 million of term loans and part of the revolving credit
facility; increase R&D for new product development,
enhancements to existing products, and strategic
collaborations and acquisitions; and purchase its 9 3/8%
senior subordinated notes in the open market.
After the offering, Packard has 59.4 million shares
outstanding, of which Stonington Partners controls 47.2%.
On a fully diluted basis, Packard BioScience management
owns about 12% of the shares. Total employee holdings
are also significant. In addition to shares held in
retirement plans, five PBSC top managers gave 100 shares
to each employee, or 113,700 shares in aggregate (2% of
total), from their personal holdings.
PBSC has grown through internal developments,
acquisitions, joint ventures, and collaborations. Its
leveraged balance sheet of the past few years has
precluded it from making any large acquisitions, but
several small ones have nicely filled in gaps in the
capabilities for both PI and CI. Both businesses have
attractive opportunities, although clearly Packard
Instrument is the company’s growth engine for the future.
Packard Instrument
Packard Instrument (PI) is a leading supplier of
instruments, automation, consumables, and services for the
life science research market. It has an installed base of
25,000 instruments in 60 countries. More than ¾ of PI’s
sales are to the drug discovery and genomics research
markets. Customers include the 50 largest pharmaceutical
and biotech companies, as well as many key university and
government research labs. These customers are supported
by more than 400 field sales and service personnel around
the world. The company has been awarded approximately
50 patents in the U.S. and other countries, and another 30
patent applications are pending. PI is leveraging its
strengths in miniaturization, automation and high-throughput
screening across three principal platforms – in
drug screening, genomics research, and biochips.
An investment theme we have been emphasizing with the
group we follow is to focus on companies that help
customers become more productive. Packard is doing that
for the high-throughput labs.
We are getting close to the time when we will know the
genetic makeup of the human being. In the next steps, we
will begin to understand the genetic causes of disease, and
how to treat or prevent them. Finding the links should keep
the genetic researchers and drug companies busy for the
next few decades. But a major obstacle between now and
then is examining all of the possibilities in a productive,
cost-effective manner. The scientist may be analyzing
100,000 samples in a day, which requires a dramatically
different way to perform the analysis—not just speeding
up the old way, but actually finding more productive ways
to get through the bottlenecks.
Packard does this for its customers. Its capabilities span
the range of the high throughput laboratory’s analysis
requirements – from the robotics that enable you to handle
the huge numbers of very small samples, to the
instruments that initiate a reaction and then monitor and
analyze the reaction, to the chemistry technologies that
generate and characterize the reaction between target and
possible drug compound. It combines its automation,
miniaturization, detection and chemistry capabilities into
modular, integrated solutions for its customers’ high
throughput analysis problems.
The big installed base of instruments and close, long-term
customer relationships enable PI to keep an ear to the
ground to hear clues about the market’s emerging
requirements. For example, its TopCount instrument looks
at each well in a microwell plate and discerns if a reaction
has occurred in the test in that well. This was one of the
world’s first high throughput screening instruments.
Packard has sold 2,000 Topcounts since it was introduced
in 1992.
Another good example is the microfluidics capabilities.
Packard’s piezo tip liquid handling system can dispense
quantities as small as a nanoliter (one-billionth of a liter) in
a microwell plate, on a biochip, or on a lab card. In
addition to applications of this technology that it will sell
on its own, PI is collaborating with Motorola (biochip
technology) and with Aclara (lab card technology). PI’s
BioSignal subsidiary is also using it in conjunction with
such new chemistry technologies as ALPHA and BRET.
Very few companies in the world can dispense quantities
this small. This was recently released to the market and
we think it could be a very important product for Packard.
It is an extension of its traditional liquid handling
capabilities.
PI’s capabilities are used at all major steps in the drug
discovery process – from genomics research to drug
screening to lead optimization to pre-clinical testing and
clinical trials. Over the years, Packard has extended its
reach into new areas by building on their successes in
adjacent spaces. It deploys similar technologies in
screening and analysis to different parts of the drug
discovery and development process.
Canberra Industries
Canberra is the world’s leading supplier of instruments and
systems that detect, identify, quantify, and monitor
radioactive materials for the nuclear industry and related
markets. It also provides services related to the analysis of
nuclear materials, including measurement, data review, site
management and consulting services, as well as after-sale
support, service and applications training for the
instruments and systems that it sells. It has an installed
base of $800 million of products. Canberra has nearly 200
people in its worldwide sales and service organization.ഊPackard BioScience Co. – 15 May 2000
4
Its major customers include the U.S. Department of
Energy and the major nuclear power plants around the
world. Its traditional business has been the design and sale
of the monitoring instruments. In recent years, it has
begun to perform the monitoring services for its customers.
This is proving to be a good growth opportunity for CI, as
its customers elect to outsource the monitoring functions in
order to downsize their organizations. Canberra does not
take possession of the nuclear waste or process it in any
way; it just measures and monitors the amount of nuclear
radiation in its customers’ waste materials. The services
business is likely to grow at a 20-25% rate over the next
five years, while instrument sales grow 1%-2%. The rapid
service growth reflects outsourcing opportunities with the
Department of Energy and other customers.
Over the years PBSC management team has carefully
crafted two companies inside of Packard BioScience, each
of which is a market leader in its respective field. Other
than the constraints imposed by the leveraged balance
sheet, each company has been nurtured appropriately,
relative to its market growth and specific company
opportunities. We think this is an important factor; in
many instances, companies stop investing in businesses
considered “cash cows”. Canberra has identified and
developed important growth opportunities. We think these
could be key attractions if Packard decides to sell
Canberra. In the meantime, it is achieving respectable
returns and producing good cash flows that can be invested
in the whole company.
The Financials
We estimate PBSC’s sales to grow at a 15%-20% average
annual rate over the next five years. This incorporates
assumptions of 20%-25% growth for Packard Instrument,
which was 60% of 1999 total sales and operating profits,
and approximately 10% growth for Canberra Industries.
By the end of the period, assuming PBSC continues to own
Canberra, PI would account for approximately 75% of
total sales and operating profits.
In 2000, sales growth is likely to be in the low double
digits before the impact of unfavorable currency exchange
rate trends, or about 8% on a reported basis. The
comparison is being affected by product lines that were
sold or discontinued in 1999. In addition, the year-to-year
comparison may not look as robust as prior periods
because incremental sales from acquisitions boosted
reported sales in 1998 and 1999.
In 2000, we expect operating profits to be lower than the
$31.8 million in 1999, mainly because of the increase in
R&D expense. However, the pretax profit comparison
should be favorable because of the decline in interest
expense, as the company deploys a portion of its IPO
proceeds to repay debt. Starting with 2001, operating
profits should increase year-over-year; we estimate they
should grow at a 29% rate in 2000-04. Interest expense
should continue to decline, therefore pretax profits should
grow faster than operating profits. Assuming the tax rate
remains constant at 38% over the five-year horizon, EPS
should grow at a rate in excess of 30%
We estimate 2000 EPS at $0.13, vs. $0.07 in 1999; both
years’ figures exclude non-recurring items. We look for
sales in the $285-286 million range, with year-to-year
comparisons improving as the year progresses. We
estimate Q1 sales at $62.3 million, vs. $58.7 million, and
EPS at $0.01, vs. $0.03. Higher R&D and interest expense
are causing the tough earnings comparison. On a
sequential basis, interest expense should begin to decline
in Q1 as the company begins to deploy the proceeds of its
April 19 IPO. However, the company is increasing its
R&D expenses for new products that are getting close to
the finish line, so EPS should be down year-to-year but
above Q1.
In 2001, we think sales should grow at a 13%-14% rate,
largely driven by Packard Instrument’s new products and
Canberra’s service business. Operating margins should
widen (11.5% vs. 11.0%), after the R&D-related decline in
2000 (11.0% vs. 12.0%). In the absence of acquisitions,
interest expense should decline fairly dramatically in 2001
(we estimate $12.1 million vs. $19.1 million) and EPS
should nearly double, to $0.23 from the $0.13 we are
estimating for 2000.
Valuation Looks Attractive
We think PBSC is very attractive at current levels,
however, given the limited float and high debt/capital
ratio, we think the shares are best suited for small cap,
growth-oriented investors. At $11, PBSC’s 2001E P/E is
1.52X our 30% 5-year EPS growth estimate, compared
with 1.70X for Waters or 2.05X for Agilent Technologies.
If PBSC could achieve 1.7X over the next-18 months, the
share price would double. We think our initial $15
midpoint is a good starting point for a 12-month objective.
[WAT, A, PBSC] MLPF&S was a manager of the most recent public offering of securities of this company within the last three years.
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Opinion Key [X-a-b-c]: Investment Risk Rating(X): A - Low, B - Average, C - Above Average, D - High. Appreciation Potential Rating (a: Int. Term - 0-12 mo.; b: Long Term - >1 yr.): 1 - Buy, 2 - Accumulate, 3 - Neutral, 4 - Reduce, 5 - Sell, 6 - No Rating. Income Rating(c):
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was haltet ihr davon?

[hammerhart]

Die Aktie ist super, bin auch drinne, beobachte sie schon lange, die 20 haben gehalten.
Denke nach den earnings werden die ersten upgrades kommen.
Mit den 80$ bis Dezember kann ich mitgehen.
Biochips und deren demand-system ist genial.

cu