Billionaire Israel Englander LOVES T2
We’ll start in the healthcare industry, where T2 Biosystems is working to revolutionize diagnostics. The company offers diagnosticians and medical labs a range of devices based on its T2 Magnetic Resonance (T2MR) tech to quickly and accurately diagnosis a variety of septic illnesses. As the company notes, sepsis claims more lives annually than AIDS, breast cancer, and prostate cancer combined. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is the key for patient survival, and this is the niche that T2 aims to fill.
The company’s technology enables diagnostic blood tests with results available in a matter of hours, compared to the 1 to 5 days currently taken by most medical lab tests. Available testing products include the T2Bacteria Panel and the T2Candida panel, which are the only FDA-approved blood tests for septic agents that do not need to wait for a blood culture. A T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel is also available, using upper respiratory samples.
T2 has an active product pipeline, with rapid diagnostic tests on the drawing board for a variety of illnesses. Upcoming products include the T2Cauris panel and the T2Resistance panel. These testing products are currently designated for research use only (ROU) in the US. The T2Lyme panel, which will allow for faster diagnosis of the difficult-to-determine Lyme disease, is at an earlier stage of the development.
All of T2’s products operate on the same T2Dx instrument, allowing for interchangeability in the lab environment. The device offers a simple user interface, and operates with just 4ml of whole blood. T2 boasts that its device is in use in more than 200 hospitals worldwide.
In the first quarter of 2021, T2 saw top-line revenue grow by 173% year-over-year, to $7 million. This was driven by a 345% yoy increase in product revenue, to $4.7 million. Sepsis test utilization in the US rose by 85% yoy in the quarter, showing increasing acceptance of the device and technology.
Izzy Englander is among those that have high hopes for this healthcare name. In Q1, Englander's Millennium picked up over 1.36 million shares of TTOO stock, now valued at $1.5 million. This increased Englander’s stake in the company to 2.68 million shares, with a market value of $2.9 million.
5-star analyst Charles Duncan, of Canaccord, also counts himself as a fan. Duncan gives TTOO shares a Buy rating along with a $3.50 price target. This target conveys his confidence in TTOO's ability to soar 212% higher in the next twelve months. (To watch Duncan's track record, click here)
“T2’s +345% Y/Y product revenue growth is a positive datapoint for the company's post-pandemic commercial strategy, which is being supported by a scaling to just under 10 direct sales reps in Q1. We view the acquisitions of Cepheid, BioFire, GenMark, and Luminex as validation that the hospital lab is an attractive industry segment, given clinicians’ (and patients’) desire to shift away from centralized testing strategies to a more decentralized approach. With these four companies off the table, T2 should benefit from scarcity value. Separately, a more aggressive approach towards commercial execution should marry well with rising awareness around antimicrobial resistance and sepsis, in a post-pandemic environment that prioritizes infectious disease diagnostics," Duncan noted.
It turns out that other analysts also have high hopes. With 4 Buys and a single Hold, the word on the Street is that this stock, which currently going for $1.10 apiece, is a Strong Buy. In addition, the $2.83 average price target puts the upside potential at 156% ... GOOD LUCK LONGS
