Investopedia: Renewed Realism May Make Life Tech A Buy

It's easy to get sucked into the "gee-whiz" aspect of a lot of new technology, and that probably explains why bubbles are much more common in tech and health care than in industrials or transports. It's easy to dream of how gene sequencing might change the world; quite a bit harder to imagine the same from a new hydraulic component. Unfortunately, the reality is that life sciences is not the eternal growth engine that investors have long hoped.

Although investors in life sciences stocks like Life Technologies (Nasdaq:LIFE) have seen a lot of pain as Wall Street reorients its expectations, the worst may be over. With more realistic expectations in place, it may be time to consider Life Tech as a good blue-chip play on a sector that may not be the stuff of dreams, but is hardly a nightmare. (For related reading, see A Primer On The Biotech Sector.)

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Renewed-Realism-May-Make-Life-Tech-A-Buy-LIFE-PACB-ILMN-DHR-A-MTD-WAT-AFFX-BRKR-PKI1130.aspx

Investopedia: Illumina Investors Get Schooled

For some time I have been warning Illumina (Nasdaq:ILMN) investors that they ignored Congressional budget wrangling, and the health of state university funding, at their own peril. Apparently that all came home to roost this quarter, as Illumina announced a significant shortfall in its third quarter revenue and warned that the fourth quarter could be difficult, as well. Though Illumina is clearly a technology leader, and likely will remain so for at least the near term, its customers don't fully control their own spending and that has been an underappreciated risk factor in the stock.

Problems Come Home to Roost in Q3  
After the close on Thursday, leading life sciences tools company, Illumina, announced that revenue for the third quarter was going to be well short of prior expectations. Though management has typically been conservative with guidance, and often surpassed it, revenue for the third quarter looks like it will be on the order of $235 million, well short of the $278 million average estimate and also well short of the $260 million Street-low estimate.

Read the full piece here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Illumina-Investors-Get-Schooled-ILMN-AFFX-PACB-LIFE-TMO-A-WAT1007.aspx

Limited Love For Life Sciences

Oh, how times have changed. Back in the very late 1990s, as the Nasdaq bubble was filling up ahead of the final pop, life sciences IPOs basked in a frenzy of investor attention. Many lousy (or at least seriously under-developed) companies debuted to eye-popping valuations and saw strong follow-on interest in the market. 

Nowadays, it is a decidedly different market. Whether in spite of Illumina's (Nasdaq:ILMN) ongoing commercial success, or perhaps because of it, investor enthusiasm for new science mousetraps is decidedly more muted. Two recent IPOs, Pacific Biosciences (Nasdaq:PACB) and Complete Genomics (Nasdaq:GNOM), have debuted to something less than rampant applause, while Rules-Based Medicine has recently decided to postpone its public offering.

Please follow the link for the full piece:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Limited-Love-For-Life-Sciences-PACB-GNOM-ILMN-WGBS-HLCS1118.aspx