Neogen Corporation NEOG, an innovative leader in food safety solutions, recently introduced the Neogen Petrifilm Bacillus cereus Count Plate. This solution offers food safety professionals a simple, reliable, and efficient testing method for Bacillus cereus. 

Petrifilm Bacillus cereus Count Plate is the latest addition to the company’s Petrifilm product line.

NEOG’s Likely Stock Trend Following the News

Following the announcement, shares of NEOG moved 2.36% north to $12.13 yesterday.  

Neogen consistently demonstrates core growth within the Food Safely segment, primarily due to the strong performance of its flagship Petrifilm product line. Also, earlier in fiscal 2024, the company launched the Petrifilm Automated Feeder to help labs efficiently process microbial tests and meet food safety standards. Henceforth, we expect market sentiment to remain positive surrounding the announcement of the latest addition to the Petrifilm product line.

NEOG currently has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 revenues is pegged at $935.1 million, which suggests 1.2% growth from the fiscal 2024 reported number.

About Neogen’s Petrifilm Bacillus cereus Count Plate 

The Petrifilm Bacillus cereus Count Plate provides comprehensive testing for the entire sensu lato groups, including B. cytotoxicus, returning easy-to-interpret results in as few as 20 hours. The ready-to-use Petrifilm Count Plate eliminates the prep work associated with traditional agar methods while delivering confidence and accuracy in microbial testing. By utilizing this solution, food safety professionals can enhance laboratory safety protocols.

For over 40 years, Petrifilm's new Bacillus cereus Count Plate has continued this tradition of reliability and efficiency, helping food safety professionals address a critical need. 

Industry Prospects Favor Neogen

A report from Modor Intelligence estimates the microbiology testing market to be worth $5.65 billion in 2024 and $8.78 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual rate of 9.2% during the period. Technological advancements in microbiology testing and the increasing incidence of fungal infections are propelling the market's growth.

Other Recent Developments by Neogen

Earlier this year, Neogen launched the new CelluSmart technology from Megazyme by Neogen for the measurement of cellulosic ethanol from biofuel production. CelluSmart allows the ethanol industry to fully realize its efforts to produce low-carbon fuels, represented in value by the D3 RINs generated from in-situ production.

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Additionally, the company launched the new Neogen Molecular Detection Assay – Salmonella Enteritidis/Salmonella Typhimurium (MDA2SEST). The product is an addition to several other next-generation assays, including Salmonella, E. coli O157 (with H7), Listeria and Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter, STEC gene screen (stx and eae), and Cronobacter.

Price Performance 

In the past year, NEOG’s shares have lost 39.7% against the industry’s 10.9% growth.

Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Neogen currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). 

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Haemonetics HAE, Penumbra PEN and ResMed RMD, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Haemonetics has an earnings yield of 5.02% compared with the industry’s 1.18%. Its earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 19.39%. The company’s shares have risen 1.8% compared with the industry’s 23.1% growth in the past year. Estimates for HAE’s 2025 EPS have moved north 0.4% to $4.59 in the past 30 days. 

Estimates for Penumbra’s 2024 EPS have moved north 8.1% to $2.79 in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have surged 60.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 32.7%. PEN’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, delivering an average surprise of 10.54%.

Estimates for ResMed’s fiscal 2025 EPS have risen 2.7% in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have surged 86.3% in the past year compared with the industry’s 32.1% growth. RMD’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 6.4%. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 8.4%.

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