Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM), a life sciences company committed to enabling healthier lives through the development of innovative products and services, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed current Interim President and Chief Executive Officer Dirk van den Boom, Ph.D. as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Dr. van den Boom will also retain his seat on Sequenom’s Board of Directors.
“The Board’s unanimous decision reflects our strong confidence in Dirk’s ability to execute on our strategic plan and to restore Sequenom’s growth,” said Dr. Kenneth Buechler, Chairman of Sequenom’s Board of Directors. “Dirk is a proven leader with a long history at Sequenom, deep scientific knowledge of our products, experience developing and implementing Sequenom’s business strategy, and the demonstrated ability to bring our people together to accomplish goals. In the space of only 11 weeks since he was appointed Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, he has established a clear path forward for Sequenom, focusing on entering a new market channel, driving the growth of our newest product, MaterniT® GENOME, and bringing new efficiencies to Sequenom’s operations. The company is well positioned to execute on these and other opportunities, and the Board is confident that there is no better leader than Dirk to realize Sequenom’s potential.”
Dr. van den Boom also commented, “I am honored by the opportunity to lead Sequenom into this next chapter. We remain focused on bringing the best products to market while aggressively positioning the company for success and expanding our leadership in the field.”
Dr. van den Boom joined Sequenom in 1998 and has served in various management roles within Sequenom’s R&D department. More recently, he has served as the company’s Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer, and in September 2015was appointed Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. van den Boom received his Ph.D. in biochemistry/molecular biology from the University of Hamburg where he focused on various aspects of nucleic acid analysis with mass spectrometry. He has co-authored more than 50 scientific articles and is an inventor on 48 patents/patent applications. (Original Source)
Shares of Sequenom closed yesterday at $1.36, up $0.03 or 2.26%. SQNM has a 1-year high of $4.80 and a 1-year low of $1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1.66 and its 200-day moving average is $2.36.
On the ratings front, Sequenom has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. In a report issued on November 24, Wedbush analyst Zarak Khurshid maintained a Hold rating on SQNM, with a price target of $1.50, which represents a potential upside of 10.3% from where the stock is currently trading. Separately, on September 30, Jefferies Co.’s Brandon Couillard downgraded the stock to Hold and has a price target of $1.50.
According to TipRanks.com, which ranks over 7,500 financial analysts and bloggers to gauge the performance of their past recommendations, Zarak Khurshid and Brandon Couillard have a total average return of -6.3% and 12.3% respectively. Khurshid has a success rate of 55.8% and is ranked #3262 out of 3638 analysts, while Couillard has a success rate of 74.7% and is ranked #198.
Overall, one research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, 4 research analysts have assigned a Hold rating and . When considering if perhaps the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $1.50 which is 10.3% above where the stock closed yesterday.
Sequenom Inc is a molecular diagnostic testing and genetics analysis company which provides molecular diagnostic testing services.
