Teladoc (TDOC) To Buy Best Doctors, Stock Hits New High

Teladoc Inc. (NYSE:TDOC) , a premier telehealth services provider, has inked a definitive agreement to acquire Best Doctors, a leader in medical consultation.

Teladoc has picked up Best Doctors given its wide network of more than 500,000 world-renowned experts spanning 450 medical specialties. Its presence in every major region of the world and strong analytic capabilities will enable Teladoc to provide superior service to its clients.

The news was well received by investors and the stock gained a good 5.29%, pushing it to a 52-week high of $35.85 on Jun 19.

The latest move is in sync with Teladoc’s inorganic growth strategy. The company made a number of acquisitions recently that have expanded its distribution capabilities and broadened its service offerings.

The most recent buyout of HealthiestYou in 2016 has enhanced Teladoc’s access to the market of small- and medium-sized employers. This underserved corner of the market segment offers Teladoc significant growth opportunities.

Apart from buyouts, Teladoc is busy forging partnerships and pacts to beef up its list of client.

Teladoc has been quite successful in acquiring and integrating companies, something that has accrued to its top line. The successful inorganic story is reflected in the company’s share price which has increased 176% over the last one year compared with the Zacks categorized Medical Services industry’s gain of 6.64%.

Teladoc is fast gaining ground in the burgeoning telehealth services industry in the U.S. Demand for the company’s services is being fueled by increasing health care costs following inefficient care, duplication of services, significant waste and extreme variation in access, cost and quality of care.

Teladoc fills in this gap by providing superior quality of care through a platform that caters to consumer demand and physician availability in real-time and in various modalities such as video, web, mobile and telephone. Moreover, the emergence of technology such as big data and analytics, cloud-based solutions, online video and mobile applications present the company with huge scope for growth.

Teladoc carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the medical sector are Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) , EDAP TMS S.A. (NASDAQ:EDAP) and Inogen Inc. (NASDAQ:INGN) . All three companies carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Align Technology, a medical dental supplies company, topped estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 59.23%.

Inogen, a medical instruments seller, beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 82.42%.

EDAP TMS surpassed estimates in two of the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 366.67%.

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