LMDX’s Downfall: From Promising Diagnostics to Nasdaq Delisting
LumiraDx (OTC: LMDX.F) stock plunged to $0.012, hitting an all-time low recently. LMDX shaved off 99.88% since January 2021, falling from the all-time high of $10.35. Investors are concerned that it might not rebound again. However, the firm’s market cap is currently 2.70M, so it still has some juice left in it.
LumiraDx is a next-gen diagnostics company. It first appeared on the market in 2014, with lofty ambitions of transforming the community-based healthcare system. To achieve this goal, the company built an advanced diagnostic platform, and commercialised it.
Customers can go through a wide variety of tests, and the management boasts that their performance is comparable to real labs. When the company launched its product, it stirred the market, attracting lots of interest.
However, this success was more like a nine-day wonder, as LumiraDx’s popularity burned out pretty quickly, leaving the stock firmly in the red.
The LMDX Stock News – A New Merger In Process
The company currently has 2 institutional owners, as well as shareholders. There are a total of 14,316,092 shares. XTX Topco Ltd and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are among the major investors. The company seems frozen in one place, with no reports about its new developments.
Still, it has a well-developed platform that has the potential to become a fixture in the healthcare industry. That was one of the reasons why the Swiss drugmaker Roche (ROG.S) announced in December 2023 that it planned to buy LumiraDx.
Roche wanted to expand its operations and decided that including a Point of Care diagnostics platform business was a good start. At the time, it was willing to pay approximately $295 million for ownership rights.
After this announcement hit markets, the LMDX stock hit a high, rising by 20%. The transaction should have been finalised by mid-2024, but thus far, there is no new information about its progress.
The drugmaker planned to make the acquired company a part of its diagnostics unit. It will likely release some news soon. However, initially, it agreed to pay not only a purchase price for the company but also an additional $55 million for platform maintenance. Considering that the LMDX stock is now worth much less compared to its value a year ago, the question is whether Roche is still willing to invest so much in it.
Furthermore, LumiraDx announced that it wouldn’t distribute the proceeds to its shareholders. Instead, the company planned to cover its debts with these funds. The technology unit it purchased – Point of Care – is pretty expensive. However, it offers a wide variety of clinical chemistry, and immunoassay tests, all of them available on a single platform.
LMDXF/USD 5-Day Chart
What About The Earnings Per Share?
The company’s earnings per share (EPS) came out much weaker than analysts expected. And their estimate was a paltry $-0.135. In the last quarter, the stock plummeted by 14.410%. Moreover, it shaved off 71.610% in the last 12 months.
The stock got two positive EPS revisions in the last three months, and there were zero negative ones.
However, Nasdaq decided to remove the LMDX shares from trading on its stock market. The exchange stated that LumiraDx isn’t complying with its listing requirements. That’s the worst news the company faced for the last several months.
Nasdaq first warned the company about removal from the exchange on October 24, 2023, stating that it failed to meet the minimum bid price requirement. LumiraDx tried to appeal this decision initially, but later, it withdrew its proposal after the management decided to sell most of its assets to Roche.
Consequently, the Nasdaq delisted the stock on January 9, 2024. It’s still available on some other exchanges, but investors are wary of its shares due to the LMDX’s continued downward trajectory.
LMDX Stock Forecast: What Do the Analysts Think?
Roche’s agreement to buy this stock has only bolstered it for a short period of time. Soon, the shares reversed the trajectory, and continued trading in the bearish territory. So, despite the fact that the company won’t totally collapse (instead, it will become part of Roche), analysts aren’t very optimistic about it. In fact, there is no question about whether LMDX stock is buy or sell.
Most LMDX stock price predictions are dire. For example, the 1-year forecast from now is only $0.273452. Considering that the shares’ initial price was more than $10, that’s very low.
Furthermore, some analysts think that the stock might hit $0.008306 for 2025. And according to another LMDX stock prediction, its price target is only $0.000313 for 2030. This means a 98.04% decrease in the share value.
Overall, this stock seems in dire straits. Its EPS estimate is almost zero, and the recent price movements only prove that the stock hit a proverbial bottom. Thus, it would be a sound decision to avoid it at this point.
Still, miracles happen, and if LMDX manages to recover, it might become worth buying again. Follow the news on our website to learn about the financial market developments!
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