NEW YORK – Fulgent Genetics reported after the close of the market on Monday that its third quarter revenues rose 84 percent year over year driven by a strong increase in billable tests.
For the three-month period ended Sept. 30, the Temple City, California-based company posted revenues of $10.3 million compared with $5.6 million a year ago. The number of billable tests delivered in the quarter grew 272 percent to 20,697, Fulgent said.
"We continued to build on our momentum in the third quarter and once again posted very strong results," Fulgent Chairman and CEO Ming Hsieh said in a statement. "Revenue and billable test volume reached new record highs in the third quarter, while cost per test continued to improve. Our strong top line results have been driven by the growing traction with our oncology and reproductive health businesses, as well as our sequencing-as-service offering."
On a conference call following the release of results, Hsieh added that the next-generation sequencing-based genetic testing company benefited from its strategic investments and partnerships, as well as new commercial customers, and that oncology testing "is becoming a growing portion of our revenue." Fulgent CFO Paul Kim noted that the US continues to be the primary growth driver for the firm, with US revenues growing 159 percent year-over-year and comprising 82 percent of total revenue in Q3.
Fulgent posted a net income of $1.5 million, or $.08 per share, up from a loss of $595,000, or $.03 per share, in Q3 2018. On an adjusted basis, the company reported net income of $.14 per share.
R&D spending in the quarter rose 21 percent to $1.7 million from $1.4 million, while SG&A costs rose 33 percent to $3.2 million from $2.4 million.
Fulgent finished the third quarter with $20.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $23.1 million in marketable securities.
Kim noted that Fulgent's shelf offering filed during the third quarter allowed it to sell approximately 104,000 shares so far, generating cash of approximately $1.3 million, before offering costs.
He added that the firm anticipates Q4 revenues of approximately $8 million, and full-year revenues of approximately $32 million, representing year-over-year growth of approximately 50 percent for both periods.
On Tuesday, PiperJaffray upgraded shares of Fulgent to Overweight from Neutral and increased its price target to $12.30 from $9.50. Â
In morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of Fulgent were up 31 percent at $12.35.