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Here's Why You Should Retain Luminex (LMNX) Stock for Now

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Luminex Corporation is well poised for growth backed by a plethora of regulatory approvals and robust product portfolio. Intense competition has been offsetting the positives to some extent.

Shares of Luminex have gained 54.2%, compared with the industry’s rally of 23.1% in a year’s time.

Luminex, with a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary biological testing technologies with applications throughout the life sciences and diagnostics industry. It anticipates earnings improvement of 30.4% next year.

Let’s take a closer look at the factors that substantiate the company’s Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Strong Product Portfolio: Luminex has a broad product portfolio that comprises advanced xMAP, xTAG and Multi Code technologies. Per management, 2020 will be a transformative year for the company owing to three new product launches.

In the second quarter of 2020, the company launched a plethora of new testing solutions in response to the pandemic and anticipates launching several more very soon. At the same time, it continues to invest in the development ofcore technologies, including its VERIGENE portfolio, xMAP Technology and flow cytometry portfolios. Luminex expanded its sample-to-answer system installed base in the second quarter, with more than 160 systems.

In July 2020,the company delivered the first of its new xMAP INTELLIFLEX Systems to several of its Life Science Research Partners. This marks a significant milestone in the company’s strategy with respect to the expansion of its xMAP Technology with new functionality to facilitate new applications. By the end of 2020, the company intends to fully commercialize this next generation of xMAP Technology.

Plethora of Regulatory Approvals: In March 2020, the company received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA for its NxTAGCoV Extended Panel that will be used to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Now, high-complexity molecular laboratories can utilize the NxTAG test on Luminex’s easy-to-use, compact MAGPIX System, which will help detect the virus causing COVID-19 for up to 96 patients in about four hours. In April, the company announced the receipt of EUA from the FDA for its ARIES SARS-CoV-2 Assay that can rapidly detect the virus.

In June, the company submitted an EUA request to the FDA for its xMAP SARS-CoV-2 Multi-Antigen IgG assay. The assay has been created to offer additional capacity to detect antibodies in patients who might have been exposed to or infected by SARS-CoV-2. Notably, this COVID-19 antibody test can deliver outstanding results for up to 96 samples in less than three hours and has been developed to run on all xMAP platforms.

 

In July, the company received EUA from the FDA for its xMAP SARS-CoV-2 Multi-Antigen immunoglobulin class G (IgG) Assay. Clinical laboratories can now utilize this serology assay to detect the presence of antibodies in people affected by the virus causing COVID-19. Notably, this is the company’s third COVID-19 test to receive EUA since March 2020.

These are expected to drive growth in the near term.

What’s Deterring the Stock?

Luminex operates in the highly-competitive life sciences industry. The industry is characterized by rapid and continuous technological innovation. Currently, it is facing stiff competition in the respiratory market.

Estimates Trend

For 2020, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $421.9 million, indicating an improvement of 26.1% from the prior-year period. The same for earnings stands at 81 cents per share, suggesting whopping growth of 485.7% from the year-ago reported figure.

Key Picks

A few better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space include OPKO Health (OPK - Free Report) , Surmodics (SRDX - Free Report)  and Merit Medical Systems (MMSI - Free Report) .

OPKO Health’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 12%. The company presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Surmodics’ long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 10%. The company presently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Merit Medical Systems’ long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 11.9%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Zacks’ Single Best Pick to Double

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each picked their favorite to gain +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Zacks Director of Research, SherazMian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

With users in 180 countries and soaring revenues, it’s set to thrive on remote working long after the pandemic ends. No wonder it recently offered a stunning $600 million stock buy-back plan.

The sky’s the limit for this emerging tech giant. And the earlier you get in, the greater your potential gain.

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