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KeyBanc Capital Markets has initiated coverage on Rapid Micro Biosystems Inc (NASDAQ:RPID) with an Overweight rating and a price target of $8.00. The new rating comes as KeyBanc analysts recognize the company’s innovative Microbial Growth Direct System (GDS) as a significant advancement in biological manufacturing quality control.
The GDS technology offers a more accurate and efficient alternative to traditional methods for detecting bacterial contamination, delivering digital results within three to five days compared to the five to fourteen days required by manual Petri dish and microscope analysis. This improvement in detection speed is a key factor in the analyst’s positive outlook on the company. InvestingPro analysis reveals that while the company maintains strong liquidity with a current ratio of 5.52, it faces profitability challenges with negative gross margins.
Rapid Micro Biosystems’ system has seen substantial market acceptance, with 164 installations worldwide. It is currently in use at 70% of the top 20 biopharmaceutical companies, including a partnership with Lonza, the world’s leading contract manufacturer for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Additionally, the system is utilized in the production of all approved CAR-T therapies, further validating its significance in the sector.
The company has been experiencing rapid growth, with a projected revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28% from 2022 to 2024. The widespread adoption of Rapid Micro Biosystems’ technology in the biopharmaceutical industry is expected to continue, which KeyBanc analysts believe will lead to increased top-line visibility and improved profit margins for the company.
In summary, KeyBanc’s initiation of coverage with an Overweight rating and an $8.00 price target reflects their confidence in Rapid Micro Biosystems’ potential for continued growth and increased market penetration, driven by its innovative GDS technology and its growing acceptance among leading biopharmaceutical companies.
In other recent news, Rapid Micro Biosystems has unveiled its preliminary unaudited financial results, showing record revenue growth for the fourth quarter of 2024. The technology company expects a revenue of approximately $8.2 million for the quarter, a notable 30% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. Furthermore, the full-year revenue for 2024 is projected to be around $28.1 million, marking a growth of roughly 25% from the prior year.
The company’s recurring revenue for the fourth quarter is estimated at approximately $4.2 million, a 27% rise from the prior-year period. For the entire year, recurring revenue is expected to be about $15.5 million, up 14% from the previous year.
In other developments, Rapid Micro Biosystems announced a successful collaboration with Lonza, a global leader in life sciences. This partnership has resulted in the creation of the first fully automated end-to-end environmental monitoring quality control solution.
The company also reported the placement of six new Growth Direct systems and the validation of four customer systems in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to over 160 systems placed and over 135 systems validated globally. These recent developments highlight the company’s ongoing commitment to automating microbial quality control testing workflows.
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