Message #29 From:
NewsBot Date: December 5, 2006 10:09:00 AM
CEMI News Dutton Associates Announces Investment Opinion: Chembio Diagnostics At Strong Speculative Buy Rating In Update By Dutton Associates
EL DORADO HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dutton Associates updates its coverage of Chembio Diagnostics
(OTCBB:CEMI) maintaining a Strong Speculative Buy rating and a 12 month
$1.50 price target. The 15-page report by Dutton senior analyst Steve
Handley is available at www.jmdutton.com
as well as from First Call, Bloomberg, Zacks, Reuters, Knobias, and
other leading financial portals.
Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. is a small company that develops, manufactures
and markets rapid diagnostic tests that aid in the detection of
infectious diseases. The most significant program underway is the
commercialization and marketing of its HIV rapid tests, because they
compete in large worldwide markets and offer differentiated features
from HIV tests offered by others. Furthermore, last month the Company
took two important steps that should enable it to more fully capitalize
on these products – it obtained a capable
marketing partner (Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc.) as well as
financing of $8.15 million; the latter is expected to fund the Company
through 2007. Chembio’s products employ
proprietary lateral-flow technology that it has in-licensed; and earlier
this year the Company introduced its patent-pending rapid-test platform
known as DPP™ (Dual Path Platform) which
management claims produces higher levels of product performance. Chembio
is using DPP to develop a number of new tests, including an oral fluid
HIV test and a syphilis test pursuant to a recently announced
collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We
initiated research coverage of Chembio during February 2006 with a
Speculative Buy rating and a one-year price target for the stock of
$1.00 per share. However, in April, after the Company received an “approvable”
letter from the FDA for two of its rapid HIV tests, we increased our
price target to $1.50, and upgraded the rating to Strong Speculative Buy
while extending the target date for another year.
About Dutton Associates
Dutton Associates is one of the largest independent investment research
firms in the U.S. Its 31 senior analysts are primarily CFAs and have
expertise in many industries. Dutton Associates provides continuing
analyst coverage of over 140 enrolled companies, and its research,
estimates, and ratings are carried in all the major databases serving
institutions and online investors.
The cost of enrollment in our one-year continuing research program is US
$39,500 prepaid for 4 Research Reports, typically published quarterly,
and requisite Research Notes. Dutton Associates received $35,000 from
the Company for 12 Research Reports with coverage commencing on
2/07/2006. We do not accept payment of our fees in company stock. Our
principals and analysts are prohibited from owning or trading in
securities of covered companies. The views expressed in this research
report accurately reflect the analyst's personal views about the subject
securities or issuer. Neither the analyst's compensation nor the
compensation received by us is in any way related to the specific
ratings or views contained in this research report or note. Please read
full disclosures and analyst background at www.jmdutton.com
before investing.
