Keep holding Idexx despite its jump

Article Excerpt

IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $155 (Nasdaq symbol IDXX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 87.9 million; Market cap: $13.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 7.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.idexx.com) gets about 85% of its revenue from equipment that veterinarians use to detect diseases in pets. The remaining 15% comes from systems that detect contaminants in livestock and water. The company continues to see strong demand for its diagnostic equipment. As a result, Idexx earned $0.58 a share in the fourth quarter of 2016, up 20.8% from $0.48 a year earlier. Sales rose 10.8%, to $443.0 million from $399.7 million. However, the company’s stock has more than doubled in the past year mainly on stronger earnings. It now trades at very high 52.7 times the $2.94 a share Idexx will likely earn in 2017. Idexx Laboratories is still a hold. hold…