Harvard Bioscience (NASDAQ:HBIO) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.29 EPS

Posted by George Bondi on May 13th, 2026

Harvard Bioscience (NASDAQ:HBIO – Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.29, FiscalAI reports. Harvard Bioscience had a negative net margin of 65.51% and a negative return on equity of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $20.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.20 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Harvard Bioscience’s conference call:

Harvard Bioscience said Q1 revenue of $20.8 million was in line with expectations, while adjusted gross margin improved to 59%, up about 300 basis points year over year.
Management highlighted strong momentum in its new product innovation portfolio, especially Mesh MEA, BTX, and SoHo, and said these products are expected to drive double-digit revenue growth for the full year.
Sales to pharma and large biotech customers grew more than 20% in the quarter, supporting the company’s push into translational science and more recurring, higher-margin revenue.
Revenue was pressured by weaker academic and government demand in the Americas and lower distributor sales in APAC, though management said U.S. academic ordering should improve after NIH budget approvals and China returned to growth.
The company reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance, including 2%–4% revenue growth, 58%–60% gross margin, and 6%–10% adjusted EBITDA growth, and said Project Viking remains on track to deliver meaningful cost savings.

Harvard Bioscience Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of Harvard Bioscience stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.65. The stock had a trading volume of 23,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,312. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.01. The company has a market capitalization of $25.46 million, a PE ratio of -0.44 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61. Harvard Bioscience has a 1 year low of $2.81 and a 1 year high of $9.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on HBIO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Harvard Bioscience from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Harvard Bioscience in a report on Friday, March 27th. New Street Research set a $6.00 target price on shares of Harvard Bioscience in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Harvard Bioscience from $20.00 to $6.00 and set a “speculative buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Harvard Bioscience currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.00.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on HBIO

Insider Transactions at Harvard Bioscience

In other news, CEO John D. Duke bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.01 per share, with a total value of $25,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 105,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $526,050. The trade was a 5.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Denelsky bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.87 per share, for a total transaction of $48,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,270. This represents a 90.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $177,354 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 20.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Harvard Bioscience by 491.9% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 70,736 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 58,785 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Harvard Bioscience by 291.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 49,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 37,057 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Harvard Bioscience by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 38,883 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 11,948 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Harvard Bioscience during the first quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Harvard Bioscience during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,000. 80.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Harvard Bioscience

(Get Free Report)

Harvard Bioscience, Inc develops, manufactures and distributes life science research instruments and consumables used by academic, biopharmaceutical and government laboratories worldwide. The company’s product portfolio spans cellular physiology, microfluidics, electrophysiology and lab automation, providing tools that enable researchers to study everything from cell behavior and organ function to drug delivery and tissue mechanics.

Through its operating units—most notably Harvard Apparatus, BTX, Radnoti and Warner Instruments—Harvard Bioscience offers a diverse range of scientific equipment including precision pumps, stereotaxic instruments, electroporation and gene delivery systems, perfusion systems and microinjection tools.