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LH Stock Rises on Acquisition of BioReference Health's Select Assets

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Key Takeaways

  • Labcorp acquired BioReference Health assets to strengthen its oncology diagnostics portfolio.
  • The $225M deal includes $192.5M upfront and up to $32.5M in performance-based earnout.
  • The acquisition expands patient and physician access to Labcorp's oncology testing services.

Labcorp (LH - Free Report) recently completed the acquisition of select assets of BioReference Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of OPKO Health, Inc. (OPK - Free Report) , a multinational biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company. This acquisition strengthens Labcorp's position in the oncology industry, expanding its extensive portfolio of diagnostic tests in cancer care. 

Predicting LH Stock Movement Following the News

Following the announcement, Labcorp’s shares edged down 0.9%, finishing at $275.40 on Monday. 

Labcorp maintains a robust pipeline of potential acquisitions that align with its financial strategy and are poised to strengthen its organic growth trajectory. In the second quarter of 2025, it invested $25 million in acquisitions and partnerships. Some of the transactions announced include the acquisition of key clinical and anatomic pathology assets from Incyte Diagnostics in the Pacific Northwest, extension of its long-term agreement with UHealth, the University of Miami Health System. Henceforth, we expect that Labcorp's latest acquisition of BioReference Health will help motivate market sentiment toward LH stock in the upcoming days. 

Labcorp has a market capitalization of $22.78 billion. The company’s earnings yield of 5.9% compares favorably with the industry’s 4% yield. In the trailing four quarters, it delivered an average earnings surprise of 2.52%. 

Financial Details 

The purchase price for the transaction is up to $225 million, including $192.5 million that was paid at closing and up to $32.5 million in an earnout based on performance. Lazard served as Labcorp's financial advisor, and Hogan Lovells and Kilpatrick Townsend served as legal counsel. Piper Sandler & Co. served as OPKO Health's financial advisor and Greenberg Traurig served as its legal counsel.

More Details on Labcorp’s Acquisition Deal

This acquisition includes BioReference Health's laboratory testing businesses focused on oncology and oncology-related clinical testing services across the United States. With this acquisition, Labcorp is providing patients, physicians and customers with expanded access to its high-quality laboratory services, scientific expertise and comprehensive testing capabilities. 

BioReference Health's continuing operations include its core clinical testing services in the New York and New Jersey region, as well as its 4Kscore Test franchise, which generated approximately $300 million in revenues in 2024.

Zacks Investment Research

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Industry Prospects Favor Labcorp

Per the Grand View Research report, the global cancer diagnostics market size is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 6.14% from 2025 to 2030. The growth of the cancer diagnostics market is attributed to the increasing prevalence of cancer, technological advancements in diagnostic procedures, and growing initiatives to develop novel imaging solutions for providing more accurate and precise diagnoses.  

Other Updates From Labcorp

In August, Labcorp expanded its cell and gene therapy (CGT) laboratory in Madison, WI. With the expansion, Labcorp has increased its capacity to deliver the most comprehensive preclinical testing capabilities to rapidly accelerate cell and gene therapy from discovery to investigational new drug application and clinical trial application.

Additionally, the same month, the company launched Lumipulse pTau-217/Beta Amyloid 42 Ratio, the first blood-based in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) test cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease through early detection of the amyloid plaques associated with the disease in appropriate patients. Developed by Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc., the test is now available nationwide through Labcorp.

LH Stock Price Performance

In the past year, Labcorp shares have rallied 20.8% against the industry’s 19.9% decline.

LH’s Zacks Rank and Top MedTech Stocks to Consider

Labcorp currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Masimo (MASI - Free Report) , Phibro Animal Health (PAHC - Free Report) and Envista (NVST - Free Report) . Masimo, Phibro and Envista carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each at present.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Masimo’s shares have jumped 18.9% in the past year. Estimates for the company’s 2025 earnings per share have increased 5.2% to $5.24 in the past 30 days. MASI’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 13.8%. 

Estimates for Phibro Animal Health’s fiscal 2026 earnings per share have climbed 5 cents to $2.35 in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have surged 76.5% in the past year compared with the industry’s 3.4% growth. PAHC’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 27.9%.

Estimates for Envista’s 2025 earnings per share have increased 7.6% in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have rallied 16.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s 5.2% growth. Its earnings yield of 5.4% has also outpaced the industry’s -0.9%. NVST’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.5%.

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