The world of biotech is changing fast. The growth of big data and artificial intelligence has created new opportunities for life sciences tools companies that create equipment and devices to aid biological research. These stocks can be volatile, but they also offer great potential. Here we look at some best stocks in the life sciences tools sector to keep an eye on.
Each of these companies has recently made significant investments in AI or big data or has other factors that make them worth keeping an eye on. However, each of these stocks is fairly risky because most are small companies with limited market penetration and competition from larger players, so proceed with caution and do your research before investing any money.
The life sciences industry is the umbrella term for companies researching and developing new medical technologies, bio-based products and services, and other related services. Biotech is a subsector of the life sciences industry that focuses on biotechnology, or applying biological processes and principles to increase the quality and supply of goods, reduce waste and cost, while minimizing negative consequences.
The global market for life sciences tools was valued at $30.3 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $40.8 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 3%. This article details some of the best stocks to invest in if you want exposure to the life sciences tools industry.
ChromaDex
HC Wainwright analysts had set the price target for ChromaDex (NASDAQ: CDXC) was reduced from $7.00 to $5.50 on Monday, as reported by The Fly. Before this adjustment, the price goal was set at $5.00. According to the price goal presented by HC Wainwright, the firm can see a price increase that is 271.62% greater than its most recent closing price. This would indicate that the price could go much higher. Over the years, CDXC has been the focus of many reports. Oppenheimer’s recommendation for ChromaDex has been changed from “outperform” to “market perform” in a research note published on the 16th of August.
The “buy” recommendation that B. Riley had previously given to ChromaDex was changed to a “neutral” rating in a research report published on Thursday, August 11th by B. Riley, and this was a reduction from their previous rating of “buy.” In addition, their price goal went from being set at $6.00 to being cut to $2.40. Two market analysts feel that shareholders of the company should be purchased by investors, while three believe that the investment should be maintained in its current state.
According to information made available by Bloomberg, the current recommendation for ChromaDex is “Hold,” and the price objective that has been determined by consensus is $5.48. On Monday, trading commenced for NASDAQ: CDXC for $1.48. The company has a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.61, and its beta value is 1.71. The market capitalization of the company is $101,15,000,000,000. Before this past December, the lowest price that ChromaDex has ever traded at was $1.45, and its greatest price was $8.75.
The moving average for the past 200 days of the company’s stock price is $2.04, while the moving average for the last 50 days is $1.76. On the 10th of August, the quarterly results report for ChromaDex (NASDAQ: CDXC) was made available to the public. ChromaDex reported earnings per share for the quarter of $0.09, which was $0.01 less than the consensus forecast of analysts, who had projected earnings of $0.08. ChromaDex’s quarterly earnings were $0.009 million. In addition, the company reported a net margin in the red by a margin of 41.01% and a return on equity in the red by a margin of 99.51%. The business made a profit of $0.08 per share during the same period the year before, compared to the current year. The analysts anticipated that ChromaDex would lose 0.31 cents for each share during the current fiscal year.
On June 16th, major shareholder Hoi Shuen Solina Holly Chau purchased 60,037 shares of ChromaDex stock. This development is relevant to the discussion since it relates to the topic. The shares were purchased for a total investment of $99,661.42, which resulted in an average price of $1.66 per share purchased. An insider of the firm currently owns 6,925,641 shares of the company’s stock, which currently has a value of approximately $11,496,564.06. The Securities and Exchange Commission was provided with a report regarding the transaction, which can be viewed in more detail by following the link. There is currently 11.80 percent of the business’s shares that company insiders control.
In the most recent few months, several hedge funds have made various adjustments to their CDXC holdings. The Merriman Wealth Management LLC made a new investment in ChromaDex at an anticipated cost of $29,000 during the year’s first three months. During the fourth quarter, ProShare Advisors LLC made a brand-new investment in ChromaDex. This transaction cost the company around $38,000. Throughout the quarter, this investment was made. In the final three months of 2018, Campbell & CO Position Adviser LLC made a new investment in ChromaDex by contributing approximately $38,000. This was done in the form of a capital contribution. In the final three months of 2018, Keebeck Alpha LP paid about $56,000 to buy a new stake in ChromaDex. And finally, throughout the period covered by this report, Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. increased the amount of ChromaDex stock that is owned by 127.3%, making that the final point of discussion. Following the acquisition of an additional 21,900 shares during the most recent quarter, Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. now has 39,110 shares of the firm in its possession. The value of all of these shares is equal to $65,000. The total number of shares held by institutions in the corporation amounts to 29.64% of the total. The ChromaDex Corporation is a biotechnology company that places a particular emphasis on research about healthy aging. Consumer goods, ingredients, analytical reference standards, and services are the categories of products and operations exemplified in this section of the company’s website.
Illumina
Bloomberg reports that out of the eighteen analysts who are presently monitoring Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), the company has been given an average rating of “Hold” by those analysts. Four research experts say you should buy the stock, while six others say you should hold on to it. The average price objective for the next 12 months, established by analysts who have updated their company coverage in the previous year, is $257.27. The selloff at Illumina provides an opportunity to enter the market. Some analysts have recently revealed their findings from research on the company. In a report on Friday, August 12, Bank of America announced that it had decreased its price target for Illumina from $220.00 to $200.00. In a research report made available to the public on Friday, August 12th, Piper Sandler decreased the price objective for Illumina from $360.00 to $320.00 while maintaining an “overweight” rating on the stock.
In research published on Friday, May 6, Cowen lowered their price objective on Illumina from $506.00 to $492.00. In a research note published on Monday, August 15th, Barclays announced that they would lower their price target on Illumina to $130.00. Last but not least, in research published on Wednesday, August 17th, UBS Group dropped their price objective for Illumina from $350.00 to $245.00 and downgraded the company’s rating from “neutral” to “underweight.” In other news about the firm, on Thursday, July 7, Senior Vice President Alexander Aravanis sold 539 Illumina stock. The shares were sold for $107,800.00, equivalent to an average price of $200. As a direct result of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,346 shares with a combined value of approximately $669,200. The transaction was made public by a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be viewed by following the link provided in the previous sentence. In other news regarding the firm, Senior Vice President Susan H. Tousi sold 250 Illumina stock on Friday, June 10. The sale of the shares brought in a total of $53,7112.50, which is $214.85 per share. Because of the transaction, the senior vice president now has direct ownership of 41,833 shares of the company’s stock.
The current market value of these shares is roughly $8,987,820.05. The transaction was made public by a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be viewed by following the link provided in the previous sentence. Additionally, on Thursday, July 7, Senior Vice President of Operations Alexander Aravanis sold 539 shares of company stock. The shares were sold for $107,800.00, an average price of $200.00 per share. As a direct result of the sale, the senior vice president now directly holds 3,346 business shares, which have a combined value of approximately $669,200. This is where you may see the disclosure that pertains to the sale. There is currently insider ownership of 0.13% of the company’s stock. Some hedge funds have recently been active buyers and sellers of ILMN shares. During the final three months of 2018, Norges Bank made a new investment in Illumina. This transaction was projected to be worth 532,645,000 dollars.
During the second quarter, Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its total holding of Illumina to a level that was 150.6% more than before. After purchasing an additional 939,671 shares during the quarter, Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns a total of 1,563,455 shares of the life sciences company’s stock, which has a market value of $288,239,000. During the first three months of 2018, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd spent approximately 244,547,000 dollars to enhance its holdings in Illumina. During the fourth quarter, Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new interest in Illumina valued at around 1,226,000 dollars. And finally, over the first three months, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased the percentage of Illumina stock owned by 2.1%. After purchasing an additional 426,521 shares during the quarter, Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 20,907,058 shares of the life sciences company’s stock, which has a market value of $7,304,926,000. Institutional investors own the company’s stock to the extent of 86.62%.
On Monday, ILMN stock was priced at $205.37 when trading began. The lowest price seen for Illumina in the past year was $173.45, while the highest was $477.16. The current ratio is 1, the quick ratio is 0.82, and the debt-to-equity ratio is 0.05. The current ratio equals one, and the quick ratio equals 0.82. The company’s market capitalization is calculated to be $32.26 billion based on its price-to-earnings ratio of -3,422.26 and its beta of 1.15. The simple moving average for the company over the past 50 days is $202.35, and the simple moving average over the past 200 days is $263.18. On Thursday, August 11, Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) announced the results of its most recent quarterly financial report.
The company operating in the life sciences sector announced earnings of $0.57 per share for the quarter, which was below the consensus expectation of $0.63 by $0.06. The final tally for sales over the period was $1.16 billion, which was lower than the average prediction of $1.22 billion. Illumina’s return on equity was 5.61%, while the company’s net margin was 0.43%. The increase in revenue for the quarter was 3.2% higher when measured against the prior year’s performance during the same period. The previous year, during the same period, the company had a profit of $1.87 per share. According to projections made by industry analysts, Illumina will generate 2.8 cents per share in revenue during the current fiscal year. Illumina, Inc. has a wide range of sequence-based and array-based products for genetic and genomic analysis. Its products and services enable it to use genomic solutions in research and clinical settings. These solutions can then be used in applications in the rapidly growing fields of life sciences, cancer, reproductive health, agriculture, and other areas.
