Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage of Abcam plc (LSE:ABC) with a “buy” rating and fair value estimate of £17. The stock closed at £14.72 on July 1.
Abcam is a world leader in research antibodies, with the largest product line-up and a website providing unparalleled reference documentation.
“We believe that the antibody market and revenue at industry leaders like Abcam and [competitor] Bio-Techne are at an inflection point of higher growth,” writes analyst Paul Knight.
Driving increased growth is the faster rate of gene sequencing driving more biomarker research; new generations of high-throughput instrument technologies using antibodies as detection elements; increased U.S. academic funding; and the growth in Asian biomedical research activity, he added.
Mr. Knight cited increasing visibility of revenue, upper-end of industry operating margins, a pristine balance sheet, and potentially more M&A for his recommendation of Abcam.
