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Luminex: Erasmus Assesses ARIES System, Flu A/B & RSV

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Headquartered in Austin, TX, Luminex Corporation recently announced that its ARIES System and Flu A/B & RSV Assay has been assessed by the Department of Viroscience at Erasmus Medical Center, a Netherland-based consultation center for the World Health Organization on viral infections. The study has also been published in the Journal of Clinical Virology, an international magazine on human virology and virus-induced clinical conditions.

Meanwhile, the current market sentiments of the stock lack luster as Luminex represents a negative one-year return of 1.64%, compared to the S&P 500’s 5.09% over the same time frame. However, Luminex gained almost 0.5% to close at $20.95 following the news.

Coming back to the latest development, the study by Erasmus exclusively highlights the clinical sensitivity and specificity of the ARIES System and Flu A/B & RSV assays. Per management, the study by Erasmus demonstrates the value of the ARIES platform for the molecular diagnostic labs that aims to perform 'out of sync' MDx testing.

Of the recent events, Luminex reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 6 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 cents. In fact, earnings slumped 64.7% on a year-over-year basis.

However, the full-year guidance holds promise for the stock, as Luminex expects revenues in the range of $267–$270 million, up from the previous range of $261–$269 million, reflecting overall growth between 12% and 14% over 2015 levels.

Our Take

On the Aries platform, Luminex submitted the Group B Strep assay to the U.S. FDA in the last reported quarter. Notably, this will be the third IVD-cleared assay on the Aries system fortifying the company’s foothold in the market.

Apart from the lucrative assay portfolio, Luminex’s collaboration with Nanosphere in the recent past is a significant growth driver. Particularly, the Verigene System of Nanosphere is likely to enhance Luminex’s growth trajectory in the coming quarters, in our view.

Key Picks

Luminex currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Favorably-ranked stocks in the broader medical space include Cogentix Medical, Inc. (CGNT - Free Report) , CryoLife Inc. and IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (IDXX - Free Report) , all of which sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Cogentix Medical registered a positive earnings surprise of 100% in the last reported quarter. Notably, the company has a solid one-year return of roughly 76.4%.

CryoLife has a stellar one-year return of roughly 86.9%. In the last reported quarter, the company registered an impressive earnings surprise of 225%.

IDEXX Laboratories represents a solid one-year return of almost 66.8%. The company has a long-term expected growth rate of almost 14.96%.

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