US equity prices declined modestly in April despite strong corporate first-quarter earnings. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ slipped 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged. First-quarter US GDP growth slowed to 2.2% from 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2011. US durable goods orders for March were weaker than expected. Year to date, the Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ have gained 8.2%, 11.2% and 16.9%, respectively.

All four IBO Stock Indexes finished the month in negative territory. The Process/Metrology/Motion Instrumentation, Lab Consumables/Equipment, Diversified Instrumentation and Laboratory Instrumentation Stock Indexes declined 3.1%, 1.9%, 1.8% and 1.1%, respectively.

Laboratory Instrumentation Stock Index

The Laboratory Instrumentation Index slipped 1.1% in April to close at 637.19. Ten firms lost value and nine improved. Sequenom led the Index, climbing 26%. Transgenomic fell 29% and 34% for the month and year, respectively. Year to date, the Index has gained 12.7%, with 16 companies in positive territory and three lower. Illumina has risen 46%.

Illumina, PerkinElmer and Thermo Fisher Scientific each beat EPS expectations. On April 23, Illumina reaffirmed full-year EPS of $1.40–$1.50 and announced a $250 million share repurchase. Thermo raised its full-year EPS guidance on April 25 from $4.67–$4.82 to $4.71–$4.83 primarily due to currency. Shares climbed 4.4%. The next day, PerkinElmer raised its full-year EPS estimate by 1% to $2.00–$2.05, leading shares up 2.6% the next day. Conversely, Cepheid, Waters and Luminex each missed first-quarter EPS estimates. On April 19, Cepheid lowered its full-year EPS outlook by 9% to $0.50–$0.55. Shares fell 6.5% the next day. Waters projected on April 24 full-year EPS of $5.05–$5.15, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23, leading shares down 7.4%. The company expects second-quarter EPS of $1.15–$1.20.

On April 3, Bio-Rad Laboratories jumped 11.0% on speculation that the company would put itself up for sale following the passing of Cofounder and Chairman David Schwartz. Fluidigm filed with the SEC on April 4 to offer up to $100 million in securities. On April 5, Pressure BioSciences began trading on the OTC Marketplace due to failure to satisfy certain NASDAQ-listing requirements. X-Rite soared 38.5% on April 10 as Danaher agreed to purchase the company (see page 2). On April 16, Sequenom raised the expected number of billed Materni T21 PLUS lab-developed tests by 60% to 40,000. Shares rose 10.3%. The company announced on April 19 an agreement with MultiPlan, leading shares up 8.8%. Wedbush initiated coverage of PerkinElmer on April 3 with an “Outperform” rating, and upgraded Sequenom on April 24 to “Neutral” from “Underperform.”

Process/Metrology/Motion Instrumentation Stock Index

The Process/Metrology/Motion Instrumentation Stock Index fell 3.1% to 558.33 in April. Three companies traded higher and four contracted. For the year, the Index has climbed 14.1%, with four firms rising and three falling. Veeco Instruments has the highest return for the month and year. Nanometrics is down 16% for each period.

Despite a drop in first-quarter EPS, MKS Instruments and Veeco each beat expectations. On April 25, MKS projected second-quarter EPS of $0.29–$0.42. Veeco forecast on April 30 second-quarter EPS of $0.29–$0.48, compared with analysts’ consensus of $0.23. Shares jumped nearly 14% in after-hours trading. Nanometrics missed estimates on April 26 and predicted second-quarter EPS of $0.05–$0.09. Shares fell 13.3% the next day. On April 3, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage of MKS Instruments with a “Hold” rating.

Lab Consumables/Equipment Stock Index

The Laboratory Consumables/Equipment Stock Index contracted 1.9% in April to 632.24. Five companies declined, and two advanced. Life Technologies declined the most, falling 5%. QIAGEN climbed 7%. For the year, the Index is up 11.0%, with six companies trading higher and Techne down 2%. Enzo Biochem has the highest return, having gained 22%.

On April 24, Sigma-Aldrich reaffirmed full-year EPS of $3.90–$4.05, and Life Technologies maintained its EPS outlook of $3.90–$4.05. On April 25, QIAGEN reaffirmed its full-year EPS of $1.03–$1.05 and projected second-quarter EPS of $0.24. On April 27, Leerink downgraded QIAGEN to “Market Perform” from “Outperform.”

Diversified Instrumentation Stock Index

The Diversified Instrumentation Stock Index dropped 1.8% to 150.89 in April. Four companies recorded gains, and three declined. AMETEK improved the most, climbing 4%, while Agilent Technologies fell 5%. For the year, the Index has advanced 19.1%, with all companies trading higher, led by Illinois Tool Works (ITW), which has gained 23%.

On April 19, Danaher beat first-quarter EPS estimates but missed on revenues. The company increased the bottom range of its full-year 2012 EPS outlook by 2% to $3.20–$3.35 but projected second-quarter EPS of $0.76–$0.81, which was below analysts’ consensus of $0.82. Shares fell 3.1%.

On April 19, Roper Industries raised its full-year EPS guidance by 1% to $4.75–$4.91. ITW increased on April 24 its full-year EPS outlook by 3% to $4.14–$4.38 and projected second-quarter EPS of $1.08–$1.16. On April 25, Teledyne Technologies boosted its 2012 EPS guidance by 2% to $3.96–$4.04. The company expects second-quarter EPS of $0.97–$0.99. On April 26, AMETEK raised its full-year EPS outlook by 2% to $2.70–$2.75 and projected second-quarter EPS of $0.65–$0.68. On April 13, Goldman Sachs lowered its 2012 EPS estimate on Agilent to $3.19 from $3.20, leading shares down 3.0%. Robert W. Baird downgraded Roper on April 23 from “Outperform” to “Neutral.” On April 27, Ladenburg Thalmann downgraded AMETEK from “Buy” to “Neutral.”

International

For the month and year, all six Pacific Region firms have increased in value. Precision System Science had the highest return for the month, climbing 12%. JEOL has gained 26% for the year. On April 24, Hitachi High-Technologies reported a 19.6% decline in full-year EPS ending March 31 to ¥103.71 ($1.26). The company expects full-year fiscal 2012 EPS to climb 32% to ¥136.69 ($1.70). Shares rose 4.8% the next day.

In April, seven European companies improved, five declined and one was unchanged. Sartorius gained 14%, while Tecan contracted 10%. For the year, 10 companies have risen and three have declined. Exiqon recorded the largest increase, having gained 43%, while Datacolor is down 8%.

On April 19, Sartorius increased its annual dividend 33% to €0.80 ($1.07) per ordinary share. On April 24, the firm reported adjusted first-quarter EPS grew 34.2% to €0.83 ($1.11). Shares climbed 3.1%. Biotage reported on April 26 an over fivefold increase in first-quarter EPS to SEK 0.11 ($0.02) from continuing operations, leading shares up 4.9%.

 Line Graph: IBO Instrument Industry Stock Index

          Lab Instrument Stock Index           S&P 500

 Apr-10          596.47                         284.51

 May-10          557.61                         261.19

 Jun-10          531.11                         247.12

 Jul-10          513.20                         264.12

 Aug-10          499.94                         251.58

 Sep-10          556.95                         273.61

 Oct-10          579.40                         283.69

 Nov-10          589.00                         283.04

 Dec-10          565.27                         301.52

 Jan-11          657.02                         308.36

 Feb-11          661.02                         317.14

 Mar-11          661.90                         317.88

 Apr-11          703.32                         326.93

 May-11          721.22                         322.52

 Jun-11          712.55                         316.63

 Jul-11          676.63                         309.83

 Aug-11          635.47                         292.24

 Sep-11          577.75                         271.27

 Oct-11          602.13                         300.49

 Nov-11          569.85                         298.97

 Dec-11          565.27                         301.52

 Jan-12          628.98                         314.66

 Feb-12          634.89                         327.43

 Mar-12          644.38                         337.69

 Apr-12          637.19                         335.16

                       2012                                      2011

 Cos. Date Rept.  FQ  Adj.EPS  Consensus   Vs.   Est.   Grw.   Adj. EPS

 Laboratory Instrumentation   

 CPHD 19-Apr      1Q  ($0.08)    ($0.02)       -$0.06   NM      $0.01 

 ILMN 23-Apr      1Q   $0.36      $0.33         $0.03   3%      $0.35    

 LMNX 30-Apr      1Q   $0.08      $0.09        -$0.01  -27%     $0.11 

 PKI  26-Apr      1Q   $0.43      $0.41         $0.02   26%     $0.34 

 TMO  25-Apr      1Q   $1.17      $1.11         $0.06   27%     $0.92 

 WAT  24-Apr      1Q   $1.00      $1.09        -$0.09  -4%      $1.04 

 Process/Metrology/Motion Instrumentation 

 MKSI 25-Apr      1Q   $0.43      $0.38         $0.05  -41%     $0.73 

 NANO 26-Apr      1Q   $0.12      $0.13        -$0.01  -73%     $0.45 

 VECO 30-Apr      1Q   $0.49      $0.19         $0.30  -63%     $1.33 

 Lab Consumables/Equipment   

 LIFE 24-Apr      1Q   $0.99      $0.93         $0.06   16%     $0.85 

 QGEN 25-Apr      1Q   $0.23      $0.20         $0.03   21%     $0.19 

 SIAL 24-Apr      1Q   $0.99      $0.99         $0.00   5%      $0.94 

 Diversified Instrumentation   

 AME 26-Apr       1Q   $0.68      $0.66         $0.02   21%     $0.56 

 DHR 19-Apr       1Q   $0.73      $0.71         $0.02   20%     $0.61 

 ITW 24-Apr       1Q   $0.97      $0.95         $0.02   10%     $0.88 

 ROP 23-Apr       1Q   $1.09      $1.04         $0.05   20%     $0.91 

 TDY 25-Apr       1Q  $0.96       $0.91         $0.05   10%     $0.87

 Company:Exchange Market Value      52 Week        Price      Change    Change         EPS       EPS     LTD/     FY     R&D/

                 (US $000s)      Low      High   4/30/2012   1 Month     YTD    P/E  12 Month     FY    Equity   ROE    Sales

 Laboratory Instrumentation            

 Accelrys: o       $460,329    5.68  8.45    $8.23      3%        22%    NM  -0.44    -0.44  16%    1%   24%

 Affymetrix: o     $308,909    3.68  8.16    $4.42      4%        8%     NM  -0.40    -0.40  39%    NM   24%

 Becton, Dickinson:$17,073,387 69.59 89.75   $78.45     1%        5%     14   5.44     5.59  107%   26%  6%

 and Company:

 Bio-Rad           $3,073,611  84.02 126.98  $107.99    4%        12%    17   6.26     6.26  51%    10%  9%

 Laboratories:n

 Bruker: o         $2,505,501  11.48 21.30   $15.03    -2%        21%    27   0.55     0.55  53%    15%  11%

 Cepheid: o        $2,497,687  29.53 45.00   $38.41    -8%        12%    NM  -0.05     0.04  2%     1%   21%

 Fluidigm: o       $316,477    11.64 20.20   $15.61    -1%        19%    NM  -1.81    -1.81  -1%    NM   33%

 Harvard Bioscience: o $118,471 3.65 6.04    $3.99      2%        3%     31   0.13     0.13  23%    4%   5%

 Illumina: o      $5,960,741   25.57 79.40   $44.53    -15%       46%    67   0.66     0.62  73%    8%   19%

 Luminex: o       $1,024,612   18.33 25.16   $25.04     7%        18%    81   0.31     0.34   4%    6%   18%

 MOCON: o         $101,049     12.20 20.40   $17.85     10%       12%    18   0.98     0.98   1%    16%  6%

 Pacific : o      $148,124     2.25  12.38   $2.70     -21%       -4%    NM  -2.03    -2.03   3%    NM   225%

 Biosciences

 PerkinElmer: n   $3,149,684   17.45 28.75   $27.60     0%        38%    690  0.04     0.06  73%    0%   6%

 Pressure BioSciences: o  $3,628  0.40 1.25  $0.54     -22%      -10%    NM   -0.77   -0.77  -2%    NM   98%

 Sequenom: o      $508,544 3.52 8.71         $5.12      26%       15%    NM   -0.75   -0.75  17%    NM   96%

 Thermo Fisher n  $20,596,065 43.06 65.86    $55.65    -1%        24%    16    3.57    3.46  57%    9%    3%

 Scientific:

 Transgenomic: o $42,096      0.66    1.85   $0.85     -29%      -34%    NM    -0.04  -0.04  56%    NM    7%

 Waters: n       $7,592,526  70.88    99.94  $84.11    -9%        14%    18     4.66   4.69  70%    35%   5%

 X-Rite: o       $487,737    3.26     5.55   $5.54      22%       19%    139    0.04   0.04  58%    19%  10%

 Process/Metrology/Motion Instrumentation           

 FEI Company: o  $2,071,670  26.61    50.39  $50.17     2%        23%    20     2.51   2.51  2%     15%   9%

 MKS Instruments:$1,471,588  20.01    34.99  $27.65    -6%        -1%    13     2.15   2.45  3%     13%   7%

 MTS Systems: o $759,461     28.00    54.82  $47.97    -10%       18%    14     3.36   3.24  9%     24%   3%

 Nanometrics: o $371,945     13.49    21.56  $15.51    -16%      -16%    18     0.84   1.22  8%     14%  10%

 SDIX: o        $37,452      1.51     2.78   $1.81     -3%        -2%    NM    -0.01  -0.01  NM     NM   15%

 Veeco Instruments:$1,173,274  20.35  57.67  $30.19     6%        45%    13     2.29   3.11  1%     17%  10%

 Zygo: o        $358,156     9.40     20.26  $19.79     1%        12%    15     1.28   1.05  2%     15%  10%

 Lab Consumables/Equipment            

 Enzo Biochem: n $105,808    1.98     4.88   $2.74      2%        22%    NM    -0.39  -0.34   0%    NM   8%

 Kewaunee Scientific:$22,154 7.90     11.10  $8.59     -1%         5%    859    0.01   0.72  29%    6%   NM

 Life Technologies:$8,489,119 35.30   56.71  $46.36    -5%        19%    21     2.21   1.99  59%    8%   10%

 Pall: n        $7,028,854  39.81     64.55  $59.61     0%         4%    22     2.73   2.67  57%    21%  3%

 QIAGEN: o      $3,996,546  12.47     22.20  $16.73     7%        21%    42     0.40   0.40  27%    4%   11%

 Sigma-Aldrich: o $8,649,800  56.18   76.16  $70.90    -3%        14%    19     3.71   3.72  25%    21%  3%

 Techne: o      $2,478,654   62.04    86.43  $66.94    -5%        -2%    22     3.04   3.02  2%     19%  9%

 Diversified Instrumentation            

 Agilent : n    $14,847,360  28.67    55.33  $42.18    -5%        21%    14     2.96   2.85  64%    23%  10%

 Technologies

 AMETEK: n      $8,163,778  30.87    50.88   $50.33     4%        20%    20     2.49   2.37  76%    19%  3%

 Danaher: n     $38,714,327 39.34    56.45   $54.22    -3%        15%    16     3.34   3.11  48%    11%  6%

 Illinois Tool:n$27,863,728 39.12    59.27   $57.38     0%        23%    15     3.95   4.19  50%    21%  1%

 Works

 Mettler-Toledo:$5,807,719  126.10   193.56  $179.32   -3%        21%    22     8.21   8.21  104%   35%  5%

 Int'l

 Roper Industries:n$10,119,383 64.90 102.97  $101.90   3%         17%    23     4.52   4.34  47%    13%  4%

 Teledyne       $2,403,864 43.82     66.29   $64.62    2%         18%    9      6.94   6.84  53%    15%  5%

 Technologies:n

 Laboratory Instrumentation Stock Index      637.19  -1.1%       12.7%   20                  63%    11%  7%

 Process/Metrology/Motion Instrumentation    558.33  -3.1%       14.1%   15                  3%     15%  8%

 Lab Consumables/Equipment Stock Index       632.24  -1.9%       11.0%   22                  44%    12%  7%

 Diversified Instrumentation Stock Index     150.89  -1.8%       19.1%   17                  53%    16%  5%

 Dow Jones Industrial Average             13,213.63  0.0%        8.2%      

 S&P 500                                  1,397.91   -0.7%       11.2%      

 NASDAQ Composite                         3,046.36   -1.5%       16.9%      

                                                    Price           

 Region             Market Value    Market Value   4/30/2012    Change   Change       EPS       EPS      LTD/   FY   R&D/

 Company            (US $000s)     (Local 000s)    (Local)      1 Month   YTD   P/E  12 Month   FY      Equity  ROE  Sales

 Pacific Shares             

 Hitachi            $3,518,077      ¥281,813,442    ¥1,975        5%      18%   19    ¥103.71   ¥103.71  11%     6%   3%

 High-Technologies: t

 HORIBA: t          $1,514,772      ¥121,339,862    ¥2,836        7%      22%   14    ¥204.41   ¥204.41  16%     8%   9%

 JEOL: t            $244,722        ¥19,603,303     ¥243          4%      26%   363   ¥0.67     ¥0.67    100%    0%   6%

 Precision          $38,450         ¥3,080,025      ¥35,400      12%      22%   NM   -¥3,324   -¥4,018   31%     NM   14%

 System Science: os 

 Shimadzu: t       $2,595,525      ¥207,912,953     ¥747         5%       15%   22    ¥33.81    ¥36.00   26%     6%   3%

 Techcomp: si      $75,453        SGD 93,303     SGD 0.43        8%       6%    12    $0.04     $0.04     7%     13%  1%

 European Shares             

 Abcam: I          $1,103,030      £678,605         £3.49        3%      -4%    25    £0.14     £0.13     1%     32%  4%

 Halma: l          $2,479,207      £1,525,255       £3.81       -3%      15%    20    £0.19     £0.19    46%     20%  5%

 Oxford Instruments: l $1,098,224  £675,648         £12.15       4%      28%    21    £0.58     £0.64    39%     34%  7%

 Renishaw: l       $1,714,359      £1,054,706       £13.30      -7%      32%    15    £0.87     £0.91    37%     30%  10%

 Scientific        $2,742          £1,687           £0.10        0%      -5%    8     £0.01     £0.01     0%      NM  5%

 Digital Imaging: l

 Spectris: l       $35,640         £2,192,664      £18.03        3%      40%   17     £1.07     £1.07    75%     21%  7%

 Alpha MOS: c      $9,443          € 7,146 €       2.30         -3%       2%   NM    -€ 0.05   -€ 0.14   16%     NM   13%

 Analytik Jena: g  $79,224         € 59,955       €12.56        13%      17%   NM     € 0.00   -€ 0.03   53%     NM   15%

 Sartorius: g      $1,149,016      € 869,544      €43.00        14%      42%   17     €2.55     €2.44    107%    11%  6%

 Tecan: s          $866,463       CHF 788,039    CHF 66.5      -10%      5%    15    CHF 4.36  CHF 4.36   5%     18%  12%

 Datacolor: s      $64,439        CHF 58,607     CHF 362.0      -2%     -8%    17    CHF 21.48  CHF 21.48 8%     0%   12%

 Biotage: st       $867           SEK 5,853      SEK 7.1         5%     37%    11    SEK 0.66  SEK 0.46   6%     6%   8%

 Exiqon:  no       $74,103        DKK 417,160    DKK 13.7        4%     43%    NM   -DKK 0.71  -DKK 0.71  2%     NM   21%