Back to top

Image: Shutterstock

Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights: Teladoc, PRA Health and DexCom

Read MoreHide Full Article

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 30, 2020 – Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses the MedTech, including Teladoc Health (TDOC - Free Report) , PRA Health and DexCom (DXCM - Free Report) .

Industry: MedTech

Link: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/1115211/iomt-meets-new-healthcare-needs-3-medtech-trends-to-watch

The COVID-19 pandemic has in a way speeded up the pace of progress of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). Before the pandemic, while many other sectors were fast grasping the concept of Internet of Things (IoT), the medical device sector took tiny steps and partially adopted the advancements and benefits of smart healthcare.

However, thanks to the year-long pandemic-led healthcare emergencies, automated and computer-assisted medical procedures are the need of the hour. The importance of IoMT has been particularly felt since the month of April when majority of the countries went for total or limited lockdowns, halting their non-essential and/or non-COVID-19 healthcare operations for an indefinite period.

Growing Importance of IoMT Amid the Pandemic

Going by a ResearchGate report, in this period, IoMT successfully worked toward alleviating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through ways like manufacturing things needed to tackle this infection, providing and automating clinical assistance and treatment to the infected patient to lessen the burden of specialists; learning from experience and generating better machine learning models, making a few developments with the assistance of advance assembling and computerized innovations, and developing better hazard appraisal.

A study by Research and Markets released on Nov 25showed that this market is expected to witness a 37.1% spike in 2021 and thereafter will continue to grow to reach $508.8 billion by 2027. Per the report, in the past eight months, from telemedicine to remote patient monitoring and management, this new service delivery platforms have been adopted at lightning speeds. There has been a 60% drop in “Doctor near me” search whereas online consultations and online pharmacy sales have skyrocketed by 350% and 600%, respectively.

Needless to say, by now investors should understand the above indications well and start to focus on IoMT centric investment.

Three Major IoMT Trends to Keep an Eye On

One IoMT trend that has been in vogue since the onset of the pandemic is telemedicine. It enables health care professionals to diagnose and treat patients remotely through the use of telecommunications technology. In fact, telemedicine stocks got a boost when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked healthcare service communities to increase the adoption of telemedicine earlier in 2020.

In this regard, Teladoc Health is currently enabling health systems to provide virtual care on a larger scale through the technology-driven capabilities of both Teladoc Health and its newly-acquired InTouch Health platform. Year to date, this Zacks Rank #3 stock has soared 127%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The other trend worth mentioning is remote patient monitoring. It is a form of AI-driven technology, which has been designed to collect patient data outside of traditional healthcare settings and carefully monitor patient health status. The FDA has approved the expanded use of remote patient monitoring technologies with the aim of minimizing hospital visits, thereby reducing the risk of exposure to the virus.

In this regard, PRA Health has enhanced its commercial Health Harmony COVID-19 Monitoring Program by integrating it with the Microsoft Healthcare Bot service. Users of the PRA Health Harmony digital platform, enrolled under the organization’s COVID-19 Monitoring Program, can use the AI-based chatbot, which recognizes and responds to COVID-19-related queries. Over the past six months, this Zacks Rank #3 stock has improved 8%.

Last but not least, investors should also focus on digital diabetes management stocks now. These IoMT stocks are gaining traction after diabetes was recognized as one of the major COVID-19 comorbidities. Further, amid the pandemic, the insurance industry has started financing its customers to use non-traditional digital health services while being confined to their homes.

DexCom is the first company to have a CGM system approved by the FDA, which was the primary reason behind it becoming a major player in the market. The company’s FDA-cleared CGM system — the DexCom G4 Platinum — has been contributing significantly to the company’s top line.

Earlier this year, the company made Dexcom CGM systems available in the United States for utilization in hospitals and other healthcare facilities in order to help frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Year to date, this Zacks Rank #3 stock has soared 42.9%.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $17.7 billion in 2019 to a staggering $73.6 billion by 2027. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot stocks we're targeting >>

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

http://www.zacks.com

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


DexCom, Inc. (DXCM) - free report >>

Teladoc Health, Inc. (TDOC) - free report >>

Published in