Luminex Awarded R&D 100 For ARIES Systems In November

Austin, TX based Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:LMNX) announced that its ARIES Systems was awarded the R&D 100 Award at the 54th Annual R&D 100 Awards ceremony in November. The award was presented by the R&D Magazine, following an international competition that honors the 100 best technologies of the year. It recognizes technologically significant products across a wide range of industries. This includes the likes of telecommunications, optics, high-energy physics, materials science, chemistry and biotechnology. The award is recognized as a mark of excellence by industry, government and consumers.

We note that Luminex represents a negative year-to-date return of almost 7.8%, wider than the Zacks categorized Medical Information System sub-industry’s negative return of roughly 6.1% and in stark contrast to the S&P 500’s positive return of 7.9%. However, we are positive about the recent R&D 100 Award. However shares of Luminex witnessed no change in the price at the closing following the news release due to lackluster market trends.

The estimate revision trend, on the other hand, seems quite favorable for the stock at this moment, with one estimate moving up in the last 60 days and no downward movement, indicating chances of a recovery ahead. Notably, the current year estimate for the stock stands at 53 cents per share.

The proprietary ARIES Systems helps molecular diagnostic systems and is designed to increase laboratory efficiency, ensure result accuracy, and fit into the laboratory environment. ARIES uses internal barcode scanning and other advanced features to minimize operator errors.

Luminex is making noteworthy progress with the ARIES system, which represents a major revenue opportunity for the company. Luminex is focused on fortifying its market leadership in infectious disease with sample to answer platform, the ARIES system. Per management, Luminex is the only company that provides solutions for both targeted and syndromic testing in a lab.

The company plans to seek CE IVD marking for the system by the end of this year. We believe that the approval for Luminex’s products in international markets will further strengthen its pipeline, which should help it to gain significant top-line growth over the long haul.

LUMINEX CORP Price

Our Take

On the Aries platform, Luminex submitted the Group B Strep assay to the FDA in the last reported quarter. Notably, this will be the third IVD-cleared assay on the Aries system fortifying the company’s foothold in the market.

Apart from the lucrative assay portfolio, Luminex’s collaboration with Nanosphere in the recent past is a significant growth driver. Particularly, the Verigene System of Nanosphere is likely to enhance Luminex’s growth trajectory in the coming quarters, in our view.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Currently, Luminex has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the broader medical sector include Addus HomeCare Corporation (NASDAQ:ADUS) , LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LHCG) and IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) . All the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Addus HomeCare has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of approximately 15%. Notably, the stock represents an impressive one-year return of almost 57.3%.

LHC Group has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 15%. The company has returned almost 19.8% in the last three months.

IDEXX Laboratories has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 14.96%. The company posted a promising one-year return of 62.56%.

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