Maxim Initiates Buy on Diagnostics Group Inc (IDXG); Sees 410% Upside for the Stock


Analyst Jason Kolbert of Maxim believes that Interpace Diagnostics Group Inc (NASDAQ:IDXG) has quite the upper hand over the leading market ruler Veracyte in curing Thyroid Cancer. In his initiation report, the analyst reviews the company’s innovative tests ThyGenX and ThyraMIR, which assess the risk of benign or malignant thyroid nodules and reduce unnecessary surgeries by up to 85%. Interpace competitors do not provide either the same level of testing, diagnostics, prognosis or pricing that makes this medical provider “deeply undervalued,” opines the analyst.

As such, the analyst initiatives coverage on IDXG with a Buy rating and a $5.00 price target representing a 410% rise above current trading levels. (To watch Kolbert’s track record, click here)

In reaction to the analyst’s bullish initiation, investors went for a mad scramble to buy the stock, sending shares skyrocketing 35% today.

Based on a conservative model, Kolbert sees thyroid assay revenue rising to $50 million by 2022. According to the analyst, “The endocrine cancer diagnostics are worth upwards of $350M. Thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA) analyses resolve the diagnostic uncertainty for potentially cancerous thyroid nodules. Up to a third of FNAs produce inconclusive results. Normally these patients are directed to surgery to remove all or part of their thyroid for a more definitive diagnosis, but 70-80% of nodules prove to be benign, meaning surgery was unnecessary.”

Other differentiating markers of ThyGenX and ThyraMIR vs. its competitor’s tests lie in pricing and prognosis. The analyst notes, “Both tests are sold for the price of one, which is a unique advantage over two other tests available in the market (Veracyte’s Afirma and Rosetta Genomics’ Reveal). Furthermore, the addition of the TERT biomarker further differentiates Interpace’s assay as this biomarker focuses on prognosis where competing assays do not.”

Ultimately, as far as Kolbert’s first take on Interpace assesses the biotech firm, this company is one to watch for “changing the paradigm in thyroid cancer diagnostics” – and clearly investors are taking notice today.

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