American Science shares up after strong 2Q report

Shares of American Science & Engineering Inc. jumped more than 14 percent today, a day after the company reported a 63 percent rise in its fiscal second-quarter earnings.

Shares of the Billerica.-based maker of X-ray inspection systems were up $8.66, or 14.4 percent, to $68.55 in early afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The company's stock has traded between $42.10 and $73.99 over the past 52 weeks.

The company said that its net income rose to $7.4 million, or 83 cents per share, helped by strong demand for its Z Backscatter Vans detection system. That beat Wall Street forecasts of 70 cents per share.

Analyst Tim Quillin of Stephens Inc. raised his outlook for the company today in a research note, saying he expects earnings between $2.98 and $3.49 per share in the 2009 fiscal year and $3.04 to $4.30 in the 2010 fiscal year.

Morgan Keegan & Co. analyst Brian Ruttenbur wrote that the company showed "impressive" bookings and growth in its backlog, but said concerns remain over possible delays in a contract with the Marines for the Z Backscatter Vans system and an expected slowdown in Pentagon defense spending. However, he said the company is well positioned for the coming year.

"We believe ASEI will perform well over the next year and show strong growth due to the company's impressive backlog," he wrote. (AP)