Berkeley Lights Reports Wider-Than-Expected Loss in Q2

Berkeley Lights (BLI) reported lower-than-expected Q2 results as both earnings and revenues lagged analysts’ estimates. Berkeley Lights is a digital cell biology company focused on enabling and accelerating the rapid development and commercialization of biotherapeutics and other cell-based products.

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The company reported a loss of $0.27 per share, wider than the analysts’ expectations of a loss of $0.24 per share. It had reported a loss of $4.25 per share a year ago.

Revenues jumped 82% year-over-year to $19.3 million but lagged the consensus estimate of $19.6 million. Product revenues, which accounted for 67.6% of total revenue, rose 43% year-over-year to over $13 million.

The company expanded the installed base to 92 platforms, with seven new direct placements shipped in the quarter. (See Berkeley Lights stock charts on TipRanks)

The CEO of Berkeley Lights, Eric Hobbs (Ph.D), said, “We continue to focus on business development partnerships, with industry leaders like Thermo Fisher and Bayer, to develop disruptive workflows and services.”

Berkeley Lights expects full-year 2021 revenue to be in the range of $90 million to $100 million, representing 40% to 56% growth from last year.

Last month, KeyBanc analyst Paul Knight downgraded the stock to a Hold. Knight is of the opinion that the company’s technology has transformative potential. Also, he finds the current valuation to have limited upside until the impact of a subscription launch is clear.

The stock has a Moderate Buy consensus based on 1 Buy and 2 Holds. The average Berkeley Lights price target of $71.50 implies 63.3% upside potential from current levels.

TipRanks’ Stock Investors tool shows that investors currently have a Very Negative stance on Berkeley Lights with 1.9% of investors on TipRanks decreasing their exposure to BLI stock over the past 30 days.