As the Covid-19 pandemic has developed and unfolded, the topic of variants has received considerable attention from the medical community as countries have watched new forms of the virus manifest. This trend has posed many negative effects regarding public health. However, for companies operating within the biotech sector, particularly those with a focus in infectious diseases and variants, it has meant a new wave of opportunity. Genome variation researcher Bionano Geonomics (NASDAQ:BNGO) is expanding its efforts in variant analysis by acquiring BioDiscovery, a leader in clinical software production. Naturally, the news of this deal has sent BNGO stock soaring.
What Happened With BNGO Stock
As markets opened this morning, news broke that Bionano Geonomics would be purchasing BioDiscovery for up to $100 million. BNGO stock was quick to react, rising throughout the morning with only minimal downticks. The stock is currently up almost 6% for the day as of this writing and shows no immediate signs of slowing down.
Not that it should. BNGO stock is coming off of a very good week that saw it rise by 8.73% over the past five days. Despite some turbulence throughout the past month, it remains overall in the green, up 1.21% for the month. The stock’s positive performance throughout September caused InvestorPlace’s Chris MacDonald to note that “investors looking for sector-specific plays have gravitated toward companies with genome-mapping capabilities.”
That trend hasn’t stopped, and it isn’t likely to as Bionano expands into profitable territories. The company has also garnered popularity among digital investment communities lately, opening itself up to short-term gains as its work captures more attention.
What It Means
This acquisition is perfectly poised to help Bionano’s vision of creating the field’s most comprehensive platform variant analysis. Opportunity for companies operating in any field involving the prevention of variants is red-hot right now. The market is ripe for a previously unknown company to secure a market share and establish itself through innovative tech.
Bionano is in exactly that position. Today’s news isn’t the first positive development from them that we’ve seen in recent months either. In September, their global product adoption caught the attention of InvestorPlace‘s Louis Navellier, who touted the company’s potential.
In his words “As an investor, you can leave the science to the scientists. The important thing to know is that more businesses, in more geographies, are preparing to leverage Bionano’s powerful and precise optical genome mapping technology.”
Even more recently, fellow InvestorPlace contributor Chris Tyler praised the company’s tech, stating that “Bionano is a small-cap company that’s beginning to sell critical technology in a genomics market. With obviously huge growth prospects and plenty of cash in the bank, the company’s bears could reasonably be betting on the wrong pony.”
Why It Matters
We all knew that the vaccine rush would lead to a boom within the biotech sector, but what we are seeing now is proof that it will outlive the pandemic. Some biotech stocks are entering what InvestorPlace’s Chris Lau called the “golden” phase of the boom. Others, though, are just getting started and demonstrating impressive potential for growth.
BNGO stock absolutely falls into the second category. The company is making big moves to secure its spot as an important innovator in a rapidly expanding field. On top of that, it’s only just started to garner popularity. For investors, the time to pay attention to this stock is now.
On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
