Clinical Diagnostics and Tools: Big Winners Are In Genomics and Personalized Medicine

  • Slower growth in routine clinical diagnostics, tools are favored.
  • Hologic has a unique business model for women’s health and diagnostics.
  • Gene sequencing is important for future clinical applications and biopharma R&D.

We haven’t updated our Clinical Diagnostics and Tools Portfolio since the severe market correction in 2015/2016. We did keep three stocks on our focus list: Foundation Medicine (FMI), Hologic (HOLX) and Illumina (ILMN). All are up considerably both YTD and since 12/31/16. But only Hologic is an FDA cleared clinical diagnostic product Company.

What happened with our Rayno Dx and Tools Portfolio if you held these stocks from December 2016? What can be learned from this sector?

  1. The biggest winners were in personalized medicine and NexGen sequencing (NGS): FMI ILMN.
  2. M&A-two companies were acquired with good returns:Alere and Cepheid.
  3. Top line growth is critical to stock performance: NEOG at 14% annualized.
  4. The Clinical Diagnostic Market is in a slow growth mode and dependent on M&A. However molecular and companion diagnostics are growing.
  5. Flat stocks over two years because of slower growth: ABAX LMNX
  6. Still looking for new business models and product: GNMK NSTG VIVO
  7. Large cap players with biopharma R&D tools are winners: TMO

Note: Quidel (QDEL) was involved in a merger with Alere “spin-off” assets.

Old Model from 2016 With Updated Performance

12/20/16 Current $Price 5 Yr %Perf 12/19/17 % YTD
Dx and Tools Symbol Trend 12/16 High YTD 2016 P $ 12/19
Abaxis ABAX Up 51.86 65.61 -6.86 49.04 -7
Accelerate Dx AXDX Up 22.8 30 6.1 27.75 33.7
Alere ALR ABT acq 39.43 53.84 0.87 51 30.8
Cepheid CPHD Acquired 52.95 63 44.95 n/a
Foundation Med FMI Down 20.35 49.57 -3.37 64 261
Genmark Dx GNMK Up 11.99 15.2 54.51 4.41 -63.9
Genomic Health GHDX Up 30.55 37 -13.21 36.21 23.2
Hologic HOLX Up 40.88 42.45 3.59 43.49 8.4
Illumina ILMN Down 129.65 239.8 -32.45 214.74 67.7
Luminex LMNX Flat 20.51 24.9 -4.11 20.59 1.78
Meridian VIVO Down 17.5 27.24 -14.72 14.25 -19.5
Neogen NEOG Up 63.49 67.88 12.3 79.93 21.1
Nanostring NSTG Up 21.89 23.27 48.81 7.65 -66
Qiagen QGEN Up 27.62 28.42 0 32.54 11.8
Quidel QDEL Flat 20.65 31.44 -2.59 42.81 99.8
PacBio PACB Down 4.05 13.13 -69.1 2.84 -25.2
ThermoFisher TMO Flat 141.25 159 0.42 193.89 37.4
iShares Russell IWM Up 136.8 138.31 21.47 153 13.5

We will update the chart with financial metrics and after the J.P.Morgan Healthcare Conference and come up with an industry update and new models.

Disclosure long HOLX PACB

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