Coronavirus Testing Players Gain Momentum: 3 Stocks In Focus
Zacks Investment Research | Mar 17, 2020 10:56PM ET
The COVID-19 jitters have been intensifying since the viral outbreak was declared a pandemic by WHO last week.Last month, a study by The Guardian estimated that the outbreak might cost the global economy more than $1 trillion.Similar to other benchmark indices, the Dow Jones plummeted almost 3000 points, on Mar 17, mostly as investors believe that the Fed’s slashing of interest rates could barely do much to mitigate the crisis.
Diagnostic Testing Companies Gaining Traction
Most U.S. companies across all industry domains have slashed their first-quarter guidance owing to expectations of revenue losses. However, there are several key biotech and molecular diagnostic players whose prospects seem bright on account of rigorous work on the development of diagnostic testing for the coronavirus and attaining regulatory approvals for them.On Feb 29, the FDA made a flexible decision to allow certain certified laboratories to urgently begin developing validated coronavirus diagnostics, subject to the condition that the test is submitted for review within 15 days to the federal agency.
In this regard, LabCorp (NYSE:LH) announced the availability of its LabCorp 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), NAA test, effective Mar 5, for doctors and other authorized healthcare personnel in the United States. The test diagnoses the presence of the underlying virus responsible for COVID-19 and should benefit patients who meet current guidelines for evaluation of the disease. Also, Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) announced the launch of SARS CoV-2 Standard to enable the laboratory assay authentication of testing for COVID-19 as well as accelerate the access to testing. Notably, the SARS CoV-2 Standard was launched through the company’s Exact Diagnostics product line.
3 Stocks to Keep an Eye On:
These Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks have been outperforming with their major strides in coronavirus testing. You can see Zacks Investment Research
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