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Illumina and Bio-Rad Unveil Single-Cell Sequencing Solution

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Global sequencing solutions provider Illumina, Inc. (ILMN - Free Report) recently teamed up with life science research and clinical diagnostic company Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO) to launch the Illumina Bio-Rad Single-Cell Sequencing Solution at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. The solution is the first next-generation sequencing (NGS) workflow for single-cell analysis, facilitating researchers to analyze the coordinated contribution of individual cells in tissue function, disease progression and therapeutic response.

This single-cell analysis platform will be shipped starting next month. The solution comprises ddSEQ Single-Cell Isolator and SureCell WTA 3’ Library Prep Kit. Bio-Rad’s advanced droplet partitioning technology, Droplet Digital is used to isolate and barcode single cells for downstream sequencing on many of Illumina’s leading NGS instruments.

Meanwhile, in the majority of the last six months, Illumina outshined the Zacks categorized Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. The stock has generated a return of 11.3% over this period, better than 0.2% of the broader industry. The company’s long-term fundamentals are also compelling with a strong five-year CAGR revenue of 20.4% and earnings per share BNRI of 26.4%.

We believe that Illumina’s outperformance is primarily because of its NGS portfolio expansion strategy. The portfolio consists of systems that are designed to meet the workflow, output and accuracy demand of a full range of sequencing applications. We are also hopeful that the latest single-Cell sequencing platform will contribute to the growth of portfolio in the coming days. Management expects the technology to help customers discover the power of genome to improve human health.

The sequencing technology enables a greater view of the gene expression of individual cells to understand their function in complex tissues with high accuracy. Clinicians and researchers are likely to benefit from it as it is affordable and saves time while carrying out studies for complex diseases. The comprehensive solution includes primary and secondary data analysis conducted via Illumina’s BaseSpace Informatics Suite and visualization with SeqGeq from FlowJo, LLC which specializes in flow cytometry analysis.

According to a MarketsandMarkets report, the global NGS market is poised to reach a worth of $10,371.1 million by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 20.8%. Illumina is making diligent efforts to cash in on the NGS market through pipeline product expansion and strategic collaborations.

We expect the current collaboration with Bio-Rad to help the company strengthen its position in the market. The company recently unveiled NovaSeqSeries, a scalable sequencing solution for study of rare genetic variants. Other tie-ups in this space include the deal with Mayo Clinic to advance the NGS technology.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Illumina carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked medical stocks are Penumbra, Inc. (PEN - Free Report) and Neogen Corporation (NEOG - Free Report) . Penumbra sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while Neogen carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.  

Penumbra gained 32.8% over the last one year, compared with the S&P 500’s 20.4%. The company has an impressive four-quarter average earnings surprise of over 100%.

Neogen gained 27% in the past one year, way better than the S&P 500. The stock has an impressive long-term earnings growth of 16.7% for the next five years compared to the industry average of 15.2%.

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