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OPKO Health (OPK) BioReference Extends COVID-19 School Testing
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OPKO Health, Inc.’s (OPK - Free Report) company, BioReference Laboratories, Inc., made an expansion to its COVID-19 school testing program to lend support to the return to in-person classroom instruction throughout the United States. Notably, OPKO Health’s BioReference platform is the third-largest full-service clinical laboratory. Through BioReference, the company operates in five highly specialized laboratory divisions that have been raking in strong revenues lately.
On Mar 17, the Biden Administration put COVID-19 testing in schools to be of key focus in 2021, with the Secretary of Education estimating schools to be 100% open for in-person learning in the fall. Testing will play a crucial role in order to create a safer overall learning experience for students and their families.
The announcement is likely to further boost OPKO Health’s BioReference platform.
More on the News
BioReference boasts strong expertise in school testing, which includes specific technology created for scheduling students/staff and reporting to parents and schools to detect classes and students posing risk on the basis of a positive COVID-19 test. The expansion leverages this robust expertise to provide test offerings across the country.
In fact, BioReference is ready to extend its successful model to multiple other school districts around the country, following President Biden’s announcement to substantially boost funding for COVID-19 school testing.
Notably, BioReference lends support to two of the largest school systems in the United States, offering testing services to around 200 schools every day and has tested approximately 400,000 public school students, principals and teachers to date.
Market Prospects
Per a report by Medgadget, the global COVID-19 diagnostics market was worth $19.41 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to reach $23.67 billion by 2027, witnessing a CAGR of 2.9% during the forecast period (2020-2027). Hence, this announcement is a well-timed one for OPKO Health’s BioReference.
Recent Developments
Notably, COVID-19 testing was a strong contributor to OPKO Health’s 2020 growth and profitability. Per the fourth-quarter 2020 earnings call, BioReference Laboratories continues to be a leading provider of COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing services. In fourth-quarter 2020, BioReference Laboratories processed 4.3 million COVID-19 PCR tests and currently has the capacity to process more than 100,000 PCR tests per day. In addition, BioReference Laboratories performed around 220,000 COVID-19 serology tests to measure SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels and presently has substantial additional capacity.
In January 2021, BioReference Laboratories introduced Scarlet Health — an in-home, fully-integrated digital platform — which ensures access to on-demand diagnostic services. Scarlet Healthcare provides an innovative and flexible alternative to conventional patient service centers for the collection of test specimens. The new technology improves and accelerates patient-centered health care, utilizing similar on-demand services that patients can use from the comfort of their homes.
Price Performance
Shares of the company have gained 7.6% on a year-to-date basis against the industry’s fall of 2.6%.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Currently, OPKO Health carries a Zacks Rank # 3 (Hold).
Hologic’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 15.4%.
IDEXX’s long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 15.8%.
Cantel Medical’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 19%.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
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OPKO Health (OPK) BioReference Extends COVID-19 School Testing
OPKO Health, Inc.’s (OPK - Free Report) company, BioReference Laboratories, Inc., made an expansion to its COVID-19 school testing program to lend support to the return to in-person classroom instruction throughout the United States. Notably, OPKO Health’s BioReference platform is the third-largest full-service clinical laboratory. Through BioReference, the company operates in five highly specialized laboratory divisions that have been raking in strong revenues lately.
On Mar 17, the Biden Administration put COVID-19 testing in schools to be of key focus in 2021, with the Secretary of Education estimating schools to be 100% open for in-person learning in the fall. Testing will play a crucial role in order to create a safer overall learning experience for students and their families.
The announcement is likely to further boost OPKO Health’s BioReference platform.
More on the News
BioReference boasts strong expertise in school testing, which includes specific technology created for scheduling students/staff and reporting to parents and schools to detect classes and students posing risk on the basis of a positive COVID-19 test. The expansion leverages this robust expertise to provide test offerings across the country.
In fact, BioReference is ready to extend its successful model to multiple other school districts around the country, following President Biden’s announcement to substantially boost funding for COVID-19 school testing.
Notably, BioReference lends support to two of the largest school systems in the United States, offering testing services to around 200 schools every day and has tested approximately 400,000 public school students, principals and teachers to date.
Market Prospects
Per a report by Medgadget, the global COVID-19 diagnostics market was worth $19.41 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to reach $23.67 billion by 2027, witnessing a CAGR of 2.9% during the forecast period (2020-2027). Hence, this announcement is a well-timed one for OPKO Health’s BioReference.
Recent Developments
Notably, COVID-19 testing was a strong contributor to OPKO Health’s 2020 growth and profitability. Per the fourth-quarter 2020 earnings call, BioReference Laboratories continues to be a leading provider of COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing services. In fourth-quarter 2020, BioReference Laboratories processed 4.3 million COVID-19 PCR tests and currently has the capacity to process more than 100,000 PCR tests per day. In addition, BioReference Laboratories performed around 220,000 COVID-19 serology tests to measure SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels and presently has substantial additional capacity.
In January 2021, BioReference Laboratories introduced Scarlet Health — an in-home, fully-integrated digital platform — which ensures access to on-demand diagnostic services. Scarlet Healthcare provides an innovative and flexible alternative to conventional patient service centers for the collection of test specimens. The new technology improves and accelerates patient-centered health care, utilizing similar on-demand services that patients can use from the comfort of their homes.
Price Performance
Shares of the company have gained 7.6% on a year-to-date basis against the industry’s fall of 2.6%.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Currently, OPKO Health carries a Zacks Rank # 3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Hologic, Inc. (HOLX - Free Report) , IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (IDXX - Free Report) and Cantel Medical Corp. , each currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Hologic’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 15.4%.
IDEXX’s long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 15.8%.
Cantel Medical’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 19%.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>