Citigroup Maintains Neutral on Life Technologies After New Benchtop Sequencer Announcement

Citigroup has published a research report on Life Technologies LIFE after the company announced this morning its new benchtop sequencer. In the report, Citigroup writes, "Early Tuesday (1/10), LIFE announced a new benchtop sequencer, the Ion Proton Sequencer that is capable of sequencing the entire human genome in just one day for $1,000. The system has a list price of $149,000 and is based on the semiconductor technology used in the Ion Torrent PGM and will be capable of sequencing both exomes and whole genomes. The launch of this system gives LIFE a new advantage in benchtop sequencing, and the price and capabilities provide a compelling solution for small/mid size throughput and clinical labs." Citigroup maintains its Neutral rating and $44 price target on Life Technologies, which is currently trading up $3.42 from yesterday's $42.65 closing price.