Until recently, shares of Bionano Genomics (BNGO) had been on an almost constant downward trend, declining by 90% since August 2018. However, sentiment appears to have improved as evidenced by a gain of 50% over the past month.
According to Oppenheimer analyst Kevin DeGeeter, there’s still a long way up from here. The 5-star analyst reiterated an Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating on BNGO shares along with a $1.50 price target. The implication for investors? Mighty upside potential of a further 100%. (To watch DeGeeter’s track record, click here)
For starters, the heart of the bullish case for Bionano is its role in cytogenetics – the study of chromosomal structures – and in particular, the part its genome imaging system, Saphyr, can play.
The instrument is being adopted in the EU, where cytogenetics is “building toward a tipping point.” Labs in Germany, the Netherlands and Italy are “completing validation studies for cytogenetics,” which should lead to further adoption of Saphyr in other labs in each country.
Furthermore, a recent study published by a European consortium praised the instrument’s ease of use, efficacy and ability to cut costs, comparing the platform to “ultra-high resolution karyotype (~10,000x) that offers a fast (3–4 days) and cost effective (~$450 list price per genome) alternative to combination of karyotyping and microarrays.”
DeGeeter, though, is most excited about an upcoming publication of a US study, which could turn out to be a major catalyst for the stock.
“We expect results from the first large validation cohort of US cytogenetics patients to be published in the coming weeks. While US cytogenetics commercial adoption appears slower than we have forecast, due in part to impact of COVID-19, we expect the publication from a consortium led by Brynn Levy at Columbia to be an important milestone supporting future US adoption,” the 5-star analyst said.
Over the past three months, 2 other analysts have published reviews of the biotech’s prospects, both concluding Bionano is a Buy. BNGO’s Strong Buy consensus rating is backed by a $1.47 average price target, implying potential upside of 97% from current levels. (See BNGO stock analysis on TipRanks)
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