Fluidigm Tumbles on Weak Earnings

By Chris Lange Published Aug 7, 1:35PM EDT

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Fluidigm Corp. (NASDAQ: FLDM) reported its second-quarter financial results after the markets closed Thursday and it felt the brunt of the report in Friday’s trading session. The company had a net loss of $0.53 per share on $28.6 million in revenue, compared to consensus estimates that called for a net loss of $0.48 per share on $30.4 million in revenue.

The company also updated guidance for the 2015 full year. Fluidigm updated its revenue expectations to a range of $110 million to $115 million, compared to the previous guidance of $113 million to $143 million. Consensus estimates are a net loss of $1.69 per share on $135.67 million in revenue.

During this quarter, Fluidigm introduced the Helios, a platform that delivers enhancements to its CyTOF technology. Key improvements include improved cell transmission efficiency, higher throughput and enhanced workflow and software interface.

Gajus Worthington, Fluidigm’s president and CEO, commented on earnings:

2015 continues to be a challenging year for Fluidigm. While our single-cell proteomics product line performed well in the second quarter, our results were pressured by decreased sales of consumables to production genomics customers and a decline in single-cell genomics instrument sales. We have implemented an action plan to address the underlying issues.

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He continued:

We have initiated organizational changes to regain our strong commercial execution focused on our large market opportunities. However, we believe the remainder of 2015 will be challenged from a growth and visibility perspective as these changes will take time before they begin to materially impact our top-line results. Therefore, we are reducing our annual revenue guidance range to reflect these near-term uncertainties.

At the end of the second quarter, the company had $99.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, compared to $115.3 million at the end of 2014.

Shares of Fluidigm were down 40% at $11.93 Friday afternoon. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $37.50 and a 52-week trading range of $10.90 to $46.38.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.