Myriad Genetics Inc.’s (MYGN) third quarter fiscal 2010 earnings of 33 cents per share fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents. The company earned 38 cents per share (from continued operations) in the year-ago period.

Molecular diagnostic revenues for the reported quarter climbed 5% year over year to $90.8 million. The improvement was primarily attributable to Myriad’s increased sales and marketing efforts. However, a weak economy continued to affect sales adversely in the third quarter of fiscal 2010.

Research and development (R&D) expense for the quarter climbed 30% year over year to $5.9 million in the reported quarter. The rise was attributable to additional expenditures incurred for studies of the company’s currently marketed products coupled with R&D efforts pertaining to its internal candidates.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense for the third quarter rose 15% year over year to $40.8 million. This increase was primarily due to the costs associated with the sales force expansion at Myriad, direct-to-consumer marketing campaigns and physician speakers programs.

During the reported quarter, days sales outstanding for Myriad’s accounts receivable improved year over year by a day to 48 days. Myriad’s bad debt expense based on revenue was 4.9% in the reported quarter. Myriad exited the quarter with approximately $511 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.

Furthermore, the company, which spun out its therapeutics business in 2009 to focus on molecular diagnostics, announced that its board has authorized the repurchase of $100 million of its outstanding common stock. Myriad intends to complete the share repurchase by the end of the year.

Outlook

The molecular diagnostics company expects 2010 revenue in the range of $360 million to $365 million. Furthermore, Myriad, which focuses on developing and marketing diagnostic products that help assess risks for various cancers, projects earnings per share in the range of $1.30 and $1.35 in 2010. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 is $1.3.

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