Echelon Capital Markets initiated coverage of Diagnos (TSXV:ADK) with a “speculative buy” rating and price target of 85 cents (Canadian). The stock closed at 60 cents on March 4.
ADK is a commercial-stage artificial intelligence (AI) company focused on the detection of diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness in adults. The disease progresses asymptomatically until irreversible vision loss occurs and it often goes undetected because of bottlenecks in screening.
Analyst Stefan Quenneville writes that Diagnos has developed an image enhancement and AI analysis platform that integrates with existing optometry equipment and processes to enable early detection, triage, and monitoring of diabetic retinopathy by grading the severity of indicators found in images of the retina.
“As the detailed output, low cost, and ease of implementation of its AI-based platform comes into focus, Diagnos looks poised to secure increasingly larger agreements with optical retailers, networks of healthcare facilities, private and public payers, and strategic partners like pharma and optometry equipment companies,” he added.
