Cepheid upgraded on management strength and potential revenue gains from new testing products

Ahead of the Bell: Cepheid raised to ‘Outperform’

NEW YORK — A William Blair & Co. analyst upgraded shares of Cepheid on Monday, praising the molecular diagnostics company’s management and products, and saying Wall Street’s expectations for the company are reasonable.

“We continue to believe that Cepheid has the best combination of technology, approved products, management depth, and pipeline in the clinical molecular diagnostics space,” said analyst Brian Weinstein. He upgraded the shares to “Outperform” from “Market Perform.”

Weinstein said Cepheid may surpass expectations in 2010 because of revenue from new diagnostic products, and testing for flu and for C. difficile, a bacteria associated with drug-resistant infections. He added that hospital spending is likely to improve compared to 2009 as the economic crunch eases.

He expects the Sunnyvale, Calif., company to post $199 million in revenue this year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect $204.1 million on average.