Nanosphere (NSPH): 2Q Revenue Shortfall Preannouncement, Cash Use Heavy

Nanosphere (NASDAQ:NSPH) released preliminary revenue results for the second quarter of 2012 at $1.3 million vs. analyst expectations of $1.5 million. Sales were up 160% year over year, but the revenue base coming in lower-than-expected is discouraging. Cash and equivalents at June 30, 2012 were $23.7 million, down from $39.3 million at December 31, 2011, suggesting less than 1 year of cash if sales do not significantly improve. Customer placements for 2012’s second quarter were 25 bringing cumulative placements to 166. The company stated that “Customer response to our gram-positive blood culture test that was cleared by the FDA at the very end of the second quarter has been encouraging. This is the first and only test that identifies bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes from positive blood culture bottles within two and a half hours, as compared with up to two to three days using traditional culture methods. We expect this test will serve as a catalyst for accelerating placements and revenue growth in the coming quarters.” Expect shares to weaken further on the company’s potential need to raise capital in the coming months. Shares have recently spiked and could trade back down to the $2.00 level.