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Antibody manufacturer and retailer Abcam, dubbed the ‘Amazon.com of antibodies’, is growing strongly and the performance of its shares is providing a much-needed tonic in the current market malaise.

Recommended here in March at 350p, the Cambridge-based company’s shares have since broken the 500p mark after an upbeat update in May informing that its annual results would exceed expectations. Having now completed its year to 30 June, Abcam has again confirmed that it has ‘continued to perform well and expects pre-tax profits for the year modestly to exceed expectations’.

The market for research antibodies – essential tools used in the biotech and life science research industries – is growing and Abcam is benefiting, seeing higher sales volumes and able to improve its pricing structure. Now firmly established as the leading operator in this cosy niche, it is continuing to invest internally, developing ever more antibodies in-house via a new ‘high-throughput facility’ to enjoy the higher gross margins they produce.

Independent broker Oriel expects sales of £36m for the full year, with adjusted pre-tax profits of £7.2m and earnings of 14.1p per share. Although the current price means the shares trade for a punchy 30 times prospective earnings for the just-completed year, its ongoing fast growth will soon see this rating come down.

Leading an expanding niche, Abcam is worth holding on to.

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