June 30, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
The year is half done, and Lehigh Valley-based stocks have a surprise winner: OraSure.
The Bethlehem-based maker of diagnostic kits and other medical technology has finally shown some life, although long-term holders may still be looking at losses.
Air Products, PPL and Shift4 are all a lot bigger, but in terms of percentage gain, OraSure is No. 1.
The closing price of little OraSure (market capitalization of $307 million) on Jan. 1 was $2.38. Today, the price at 4 p.m. closing price was $4.46, up 87%.
OraSure (NASDAQ:OSUR) does not pay a dividend. It loses money and burns cash, but either its potential tests for sexually transmitted illnesses or its Ebola test may be pushing the stock up as the virus spreads in Africa.
Or sometimes things just happen. There has been investor interest in OraSure but not much has come of it beyond some new faces on the board of directors.
PPL, not exactly anybody’s favorite company right now with temperatures soaring and prices jumping, chugs along. The closing price today was $36.35, up 4%. The Allentown-based energy company (NYSE:PPL) has also paid two dividends on common stock for a total of 57 cents.
PPL is a utility, supposedly a dull industry, but with data centers coming (like it or not) it may be selling a lot more electricity soon.
Air Products has shown gains but only because it’s been a laggard for years. The maker of industrial gases (NYSE:APD) finished today at $293.18, up about 17%, but much of its gain for the year came today.
The company announced today the end of a clean-energy project in Louisiana, which will result in a write-down of about $2.9 billion. Air Products said the project’s financial returns weren’t good enough.
The Upper Macungie Township-based company has paid $3.60 year-to-date in dividends. New management took over in February 2025, and so far the stock hasn’t done much. It was trading higher back in 2022.
The new leadership team planned a move away from clean energy in favor of focusing on Air Products’ traditional businesses. Maybe it will work. Today was a big step, although why the C-suite waited on this one is a mystery.
That leaves Shift4, based in Upper Saucon Township. The company processes payments at restaurants, stadiums, hotels and almost anywhere where credit-card users can be found. It does not pay a dividend.
For 2026, Shift4 (NYSE:FOUR) is down $14.04, or 22%, to $48.64. Founder and former chief executive Jared Isaacman has left to take over NASA. While he’s no longer running things, he has talked in the past about the market not recognizing the company’s value and the potential for Shift4 to “go private,” meaning a buyout and then taking it off the stock market.
So far it’s business as usual. May the rest of 2026 be better.
Disclosure: I own shares in Shift4, OraSure and PPL.
Note on companies: I’m looking for companies with headquarters in the Lehigh Valley. Walmart and Starbucks and franchises of McDonald’s and others employ a lot of people in the region but I’m looking for local headquarters of companies that are traded on exchanges.
I don’t include the local banks with ticker symbols because they are small and their shareholders already know a lot about them.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 