Aug. 7, 2025
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Shares of OraSure Technologies (NASDAQ:OSUR) fell under $3 on Wednesday, the day after the Bethlehem-based maker of diagnostic kits reported a loss and a big drop in revenue.
The moral to the story is, results talk and jargon walks. OraSure loves jargon, such as its “three pillars of transformation,” “innovation roadmap” and “diversifying our client relationships.”
The closing price Wednesday was $2.86, down 26 cents.
The company’s shares have been a laggard since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, when OraSure benefited from government contracts for its InteliSwab home test.
Consider that on June 3, 2022, the shares were trading at $3.85. Chief Executive Carrie Eglinton Manner took over one day later, and the stock is down by almost $1 per share. OraSure does not pay a dividend.
Eglinton Manner has made a few million dollars running the company, while most investors have lost money. Some day traders may have gotten lucky now and then.
OraSure’s second-quarter adjusted loss (which excludes items the company considers to be one-time or unusual) was $14.2 million, or 19 cents per share. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which do not permit adjustments, the loss was $19.7 million or 26 cents per share.
Second-quarter revenue fell 43% from the year-ago quarter as sales related to COVID-19 almost disappeared. Quarterly revenue was $31.4 million, down from $54.3 million.
Eglinton Manner said in a statement Tuesday that the results were within expectations. Maybe so, but when if ever will there be expectations of something better?
The forecast for the third quarter is for even lower revenue, $27 million to $30 million, and that will include “less than $100 thousand of COVID-19 testing revenues,” according to OraSure.
This South Bethlehem company had cash and equivalents of $235 million as of June 30, according to its balance sheet, and almost no debt.
At the closing share price Wednesday, the company’s market capitalization (share price times number of shares outstanding) was $214 million.
The company is trading at a discount to its own cash. That’s not a good sign.
What’s next? How long will the company’s institutional investors put up with this?
The company made a small acquisition, and the stock fell. It announced an IMHO foolish buyback (would you rather have cash or OraSure stock?) and the shares dropped.
Something has to give, and based on OraSure’s history, that may have to be something external to the company.
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