IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $149 - Nasdaq symbol IDXX

IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $149 (Nasdaq symbol IDXX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 47.7 million; Market cap: $7.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.2; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.idexx.com) earned $1.05 a share in the quarter ended September 30, 2014, up 25.0% from $0.84 a year earlier. Sales rose 13.4%, to $383.5 million from $338.3 million.

These gains are mainly because veterinarians are buying more of Idexx’s equipment for detecting diseases in pets. That’s also spurring more demand for consumable products that vets must continuously replenish.

However, the stock has jumped 40% since the start of 2014 and now trades at a high 38.4 times the $3.88 a share that Idexx will likely earn over the full year.

Idexx is still a hold.

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