Tools and Diagnostic stocks are having a good day perhaps sparked by the BeckmanCoulter (BEC) announcement that it is being put up for sale. The BEC stock is up 27% to $72.68.You could have bought Beckman only 3 months ago at $45 after resignation of the CEO and a product recall.
Life Technologies (LIFE) sold an $800M bond issue in two parts $400M Senior debt at 3.5% due 2016, and $400M at 5% due 2021.
Alera (ALR) held their first ever investor day on 12/9/10 highlighting their strategy and products for future growth focusing on integrating diagnostic testing with health management. New products and platforms include a CD 4 analyzer, the Heart Chek, and the Triage for PLGF and NGAL. A German molecular diagnostic platform was recently acquired and will be combined with in-house technology for tumor cell assays. The Apollo health management platform has already been launched in the US and will integrate all patient information.
Other movers in the sector include: Exact (EXAS $5.61) up 2%, Immucor (BLUD $19.15) up 2%, Pacific Biosciences (PACB $13.80) up 6.15%, Quidel(QDEL $13.81) up 2%, and Techne (TECH $63.37) up 3.2%.
We are adding EXAS to our Diagnostics and Tools Portfolio at $5.60.