US equity markets remained bullish in May despite soft economic growth. First quarter GDP was revised down slightly from 2.5% to 2.4% due to lower inventory investments. However, accommodating monetary policies both domestically and abroad continued to fuel equity prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ climbed 1.9%, 2.1% and 3.8% in May. Year to date, the Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ are up 15.3%, 14.3% and 14.5%, respectively.

All four IBO Stock Indexes traded higher in May, led by the Process/Metrology/Motion Instrumentation Stock Index, which climbed 7.3%. The Diversified Instrumentation, Laboratory Instrumentation and Lab Consumables/Equipment Stock Indexes grew 5.2%, 4.9% and 2.5%, respectively.

Laboratory Instrumentation Stock Index

This month, the Index expanded 4.9% to 820.12. Eleven companies were in positive territory, while seven declined. Transgenomic led the Index, gaining 27%, but is down 23% for the year. Conversely, Pressure BioSciences declined 20% for the month, but has gained 65% for the year to lead the Index. For the year, the Index has grown 23.8%, with 13 companies trading higher and five in negative territory.

Fluidigm soared 11.9% on May 2 after reporting that first quarter sales grew 33% (see page 12). On May 2, Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) raised its fiscal 2013 adjusted EPS guidance by $0.03 to $5.72–$5.75, and acknowledged plans to repurchase roughly $500 million of its stock. Shares climbed 2.8%. Bio-Rad Laboratories rose 6.0% on May 8 despite missing first quarter EPS estimates. Sequenom jumped 13.2% on May 10 after reporting strong diagnostic revenue growth (see page 12) and increased insurance coverage for its laboratory tests. Accelrys dropped 19.0% on May 1 after lowering its 2013 adjusted EPS guidance by 12% to $0.32–$0.34. On May 2, Bruker cut its adjusted full-year EPS outlook by 9% to $0.80–$0.83. Shares fell 3.9% the next day.

In other news, Harvard Biosciences announced on May 1 a new strategy to spin-off its Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology business through a dividend instead of an IPO. Shares rose 3.5% the next day. Luminex Director G. Walter Loewenbaum II purchased 184,000 shares in May at an average price of $17.53 for a total value of $3.2 million.

On May 1, Accelrys was downgraded by both Sidoti and B. Riley from “Buy” to “Neutral.” Bruker was upgraded by Mizuho on May 3 from “Neutral” to “Buy.” On May 7, Jefferies Group initiated coverage of BD, Bio-Rad, Bruker and Thermo Fisher Scientific each with a “Buy” rating, and started PerkinElmer and Waters each with a “Hold” recommendation. On May 31, the investment firm also started coverage of Cepheid and Luminex each with a “Hold” rating, and initiated Sequenom with a “Buy” recommendation. BD was upgraded by Macquarie on May 10 from “Neutral” to “Outperform.” On May 13, Sequenom was upgraded by Credit Suisse from “Underperform” to “Neutral.”

Process/Metrology/Motion Instrumentation Stock Index

For the month, the Index climbed 7.3% to 690.07. Five companies increased in value, led by FEI, which gained 13%, while MTS Systems slipped 1%. For the year, the Index has advanced 21.9%, with all six companies trading higher, led by Veeco Instruments, which has climbed 44%.

On May 6, MTS projected fiscal 2013 EPS of $3.30–$3.70, which was 14% below analysts’ consensus. Shares fell 9.7% the next day. Zygo declined 3.1% on May 10 after reporting weak fiscal third quarter sales. On May 31, Veeco received a non-compliance notice from the NASDAQ Stock Market for not timely filing its quarterly reports with the SEC.

Lab Consumables/Equipment Stock Index

The Index grew 2.5% in May to 777.70. Six companies advanced, led by Sigma-Aldrich, which climbed 6%, while QIAGEN slumped 6%. Year to date, the Index has returned 18.6%, with five companies in positive territory and two trading lower. Life Technologies has sustained the highest return, having gained 51%. Enzo Biochem has fallen 13%.

QIAGEN fell 3.9% on May 1 after the company cut its 2013 EPS guidance by 3% to $1.13. The next day, Life slightly lowered its adjusted second quarter EPS outlook to $0.94–$0.97 due to currency. On May 30, Pall reduced the upper range of its full-year EPS outlook by 3% to $2.95–$3.05. Shares contracted 5.1% the next day. QIAGEN was downgraded by Barclays Capital on May 1 from “Overweight” to “Equal Weight.” On May 7, Jefferies Group initiated Pall and Sigma-Aldrich each with a “Hold” rating.

Diversified Instrumentation Stock Index

The Index was up 5.2% and 12.2% to 177.61 for the month and year, respectively, with all eight companies in positive territory. Agilent Technologies led the Index for the month, gaining 10%. Teledyne Technologies is up 19% for the year.

Mettler-Toledo raised its adjusted 2013 EPS range by 1% on May 2 to $10.40–$10.60. Shares climbed 6.2% the next day. On May 14, Agilent lowered the top end of its fiscal 2013 adjusted EPS outlook by 5% to $2.70–$2.85 due to lower revenue growth and currency. The company initiated a restructuring plan to reduce its workforce by roughly 2% and increased its annual share repurchase plan by $500 million to $1 billion. Shares advanced 3.9% the next day. On May 7, Jefferies Group downgraded Mettler-Toledo from “Buy” to “Hold,” and initiated Danaher with a “Buy” rating.

International

In May, shares of five Pacific Region companies grew, while two declined, led by Hitachi High-Technologies, which fell 2%. For the year, six companies have increased in value, while Techcomp has fallen 25%. Precision System Science (PSS) recorded the largest price increase for the month and year, having soared 84% and 1,023%, respectively.

Despite lower earnings for a number of Japanese companies, outlooks were mostly unchanged. On May 8, GL Sciences reported an EPS decline of 14% for the fiscal year ending March 31 to ¥102.43 ($1.23). HORIBA reported on May 10 a 36% decline in first quarter EPS to ¥32.39 ($0.35), but maintained its 2013 EPS outlook of ¥148.95 ($1.62). On May 10, Shimadzu posted a 16% EPS decline to roughly ¥25.60 ($0.31) for the fiscal year ending March 31. On May 13, the company projected fiscal 2013 EPS to grow 78% to ¥45.77 ($0.51). Shares jumped 13.8%. On May 14, PSS cut its fiscal third quarter EPS loss by 35% to ¥459.94 ($4.98), and maintained its fiscal 2013 EPS loss of ¥1,424.50 ($14.50). On the same day, Techcomp narrowed its first quarter EPS loss outlook by 10% to $0.47.

This month, eight European companies traded higher and six declined. Alpha MOS improved the most, rising 10%, and Exiqon slumped 9%. For the year, 11 European companies have recorded gains, while three are down. Porvair has maintained the largest price increase, having gained 71%, but Renishaw is down 15%. Datacolor reported on May 3 that half-year EPS grew 39% to $16.30 due to higher margins and currency. On May 6, Exiqon narrowed its first quarter EPS loss by 43% to DKK 0.12 ($0.02). The company maintained its 2013 sales growth outlook of 11%. On May 8, Analytik Jena reported a 33% decline in fiscal second quarter EPS to €0.06 ($0.08) due to increased financial expenses.