Myriad Genetics Presents Favorable RiskScore Test Data

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN) presented encouraging medical tool riskScore test data. It also announced favorable study results for its myRisk Hereditary Cancer suite. The results were presented at the 36^th annual conference of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) in Columbus, OH.

The company has introduced riskScore under its myRisk Hereditary Cancer testing portfolio to solidify its footprint in the rapidly growing hereditary cancer testing market. Based in Salt Lake City, UT, this leading molecular diagnostics and personalized medicines provider’s proprietary riskScore is a precision medical tool for patientswho use myRisk to get their tests done.

Notably, this highly advanced prediction tool helps determine a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by combining genetic markers throughout the genome with the patient’s family and clinical history. Per management, riskScore will also assist 90% of the patients with negative results pertaining to heredity cancer genes to derive proper conclusions.

In June, the company presented favorable data from a 2,000-patient clinical study with myRisk Hereditary Cancer tests at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The results highlighted the importance of the multi-gene panel testing for advancement of the hereditary cancer-risk evaluation platform.

Myriad has been riding high on strength in the Heriditary Cancer testing space. In the last reported quarter, the company witnessed a 6% year-over-year rise in Heriditary Cancer testing volumes, marking the third consecutive quarter of sequential growth.

Per a report by DPI Research on Medium, the breast cancer screening market in the United States is expected to reach a value of roughly $5.8 billion by 2022. Moreover, per an article by BreastCancer.Org, approximately 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer in women are likely to be diagnosed in the United States in 2017. They also project 63,410 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer this year as well.

We believe an ageing population, rising awareness and expenditure in healthcare will continue to drive growth in the breast cancer screening market. However, this market is dominated by many well-established players, Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) being the most prominent one. In this space, Quest Diagnostics’ Quest Vantage services help in the discovery of genetic variants related to the hereditary risk of 15 types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, pancreatic and renal.

Moreover, Myriad has been gaining investor confidence on consistently positive results. Over the past three months, the company’s share price has outperformed the broader industry. The stock has gained 34.3%, higher than the broader industry’s 10.2%. The company has also outperformed the 1.6% gain of the S&P 500 market over the same time frame.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Myriad carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of better-ranked medical stocks are Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) and Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNTH) . Edwards Lifesciences sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Lantheus Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Edwards Lifesciences has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 15.2%. The stock has rallied roughly 20.6% over the last six months.

Lantheus Holdings has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 12.5%. The stock has gained 39.4% over the last six months.

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