Biocept Is An Emerging Leader In Liquid Biopsy; Roth Starts At Buy

Roth Capital Partners analyst, Chris Lewis, believes that Biocept Inc

is an emerging leader in Liquid Biopsy. Therefore, he initiated coverage on the stock with a rate of Buy and kept a price tag of $1.20. The brokerage thinks that through its proprietary technology platform, Biocept is capable of assaying both circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), strong IP portfolio, notable collaborations with leading cancer institutions, and building commercial momentum. Therefore, Lewis said, "we believe Biocept is uniquely positioned as a leader in the emerging field of liquid biopsy and personalized medicine." He added that "Biocept is an early commercial-stage molecular cancer diagnostics company that utilizes its Target Selector proprietary technology platform and a standard blood sample, known as a "liquid biopsy" to provide physicians with important prognostic and predictive information to select appropriate personalized treatments for cancer patients based on better, timelier, and more-detailed tumor characteristics data." Roth Capital also believes that Biocept provided the biggest number of commercial biomarker assays using a combination of CTCs and ctDNA for clinical use in the liquid biopsy market today. The brokerage added that Biocept's current menu included assays across six major solid tumor indications, including gastric, breast, lung, colorectal, prostate, and melanoma. The analyst expects future additional biomarkers to further expand its menu. Lewis thinks that Biocept possesses a strong portfolio of intellectual property for a number of aspects of its technology. The analyst added, "As larger diagnostic companies place increasing development focus on liquid biopsy, we believe Biocept could become an attractive takeout candidate." The stock traded 1.57 percent down on Monday.