Today, Craig-Hallum initiated coverage of iSpecimen (NASDAQ:ISPC) with a “buy” rating and a price target of $20. This price target represents impressive upside of more than 120% from current prices. As a result, mention of ISPC stock on the popular financial site Stocktwits has increased by more than 21%.
What Is Going on With ISPC Stock Today?
So what else do you need to know?
Matthew Hewitt is the Craig-Hallum analyst who initiated coverage of ISPC stock. Hewitt believes that iSpecimen has the potential to consolidate the largely fragmented biospecimen market. The analyst also explained that investors can view ISPC stock as a niche e-commerce company in the early stages of development. In terms of a price target, Hewitt formulated his $20 target based on discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis that factors in a 8.4x enterprise value-sales multiple for 2022. ISPC stock currently trades at a multiple of 2.5x for 2022. Hewitt therefore believes iSpecimen trades at a discount relative to other platform-based and pharmaceutical businesses.
There are several other factors about ISPC stock that Hewitt finds alluring. First, the company is in a good position to charge a subscription fee, which could significantly drive up revenue. Hewitt also mentioned that iSpecimen has the opportunity to collect and make available data on the patients providing specimens. The company has actively been making information technology investments to meet these needs. Finally, iSpecimen is a diverse company capitalizing on two major trends: healthcare and e-commerce. Hewitt views iSpecimen as a “rare example of a publicly-traded e-commerce company that’s still in the first or second inning of its growth cycle.”
Hewitt has a great track record and was awarded the No. 1 stock picker for healthcare technology by Thomson Reuters in 2018.
Additionally, ISPC stock is one of the names on Craig-Hallum’s Alpha Select List. The list changes frequently and follows “smaller, under-followed public companies that we believe have the potential to become much larger.” Furthermore, the list tracks qualities such as a sub-$500 million market capitalization, a competent management team, and an efficient business model.
iSpecimen seems to be a company that plans to move quickly. It operates as an online marketplace to connect researchers and healthcare organizations as they work to procure human biospecimens. These specimens include biofluids, human tissue, and immune cells, among others. The company notes that over 80% of researchers are limited due to a lack of access to specimens.
iSpecimen also reported several new developments in December.
iSpecimen Expands Its Global Supplier Network
It was reported in mid-December that iSpecimen had increased its global biospecimen provider network to support research related to neurological disorders. The company also announced that 25% of its newest suppliers came from outside the U.S during 2021. Neurological disorders affect over 1 billion people worldwide, so this is a massive market opportunity for iSpecimen. iSpecimen CEO Christopher Ianelli added that “Neurological disorders are prevalent, varied, and complicated, and we are committed to doing everything we can to support researchers as they work every day to develop treatments, diagnostics, and cures for these conditions.”
From March to December 2021, iSpecimen added over 12 suppliers to its network to aid in simplifying human specimen procurement. The total number of total suppliers that iSpecimen works with is 200 as of Q3.
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On the date of publication, Eddie Pan 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.
