Quest Diagnostics Enhances Blueprint for Athletes Service
Quest Diagnostics Inc. DGX, a global provider of clinical lab services, recently expanded its biomarker testing service known as Blueprint for Athletes. The company has added new features of Custom Coaching and At-Home Collection to the service. These extended offerings allow fitness freaks, athletes and consumers to do biomarker testing at the comfort of their homes.
Notably, Blueprint for Athletes is said to be Quest Diagnostics’ first fitness-specific consumer service. The service was developed in partnership with experts in the fields of nutrition, exercise physiology, athletic training and human performance. It generally provides athletes and fitness enthusiasts with health status reports that contain personalized lab test results that give insights into their own body to help improve fitness and performance.
As per the company release, the new services feature a Field Kit with a MitraMicrosampling device. An individual can purchase the kit online, collect a few drops of blood from the fingertip and send the sample to the lab. An additional Blueprint for Athletes offering is "concierge collection" in which trained experts will visit a person's home to collect blood specimen for testing. Hormone and the other Blueprint for Athlete services involve biometric testing of blood serum rather than DNA testing of saliva.
At-home collection sampling is currently available as part of the Blueprint for Athletes Hormone package.
The company has also reorganized the Blueprint for Athlete test services for individuals to have access to more personalized biometric analysis. The services, called stacks contain panels of lab tests which have been designed to provide relevant information to athletes and fitness enthusiasts of every level.
Management claims that these new services help offer convenience in day to day lives of athletes and meet their fitness objectives, backed by scientific expertise of Quest Diagnostics. Based on information from their test results, athletes can design their own health program to achieve their personal best.
According to a Transparency Market Research report, the global clinical laboratory services market is expected see CAGR of 5.8% to $241.37 billion by 2019. Therefore, Quest Diagnostics is currently refocusing on its core diagnostic information services business to gain traction in this growing market.
Key Picks
A few prominent players from the broader medical sector are Align Technology, Inc. ALGN, Inogen, Inc. INGN and Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. AXDX.
Align Technology has an expected long-term adjusted earnings growth of almost 24.1%.
Inogen has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 17.5%.
Accelerate Diagnostics has an expected long-term adjusted earnings growth of 30%.
The Best & Worst of Zacks
Today you are invited to download the full, up-to-the-minute list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" free of charge. From 1988 through 2015 this list has averaged a stellar gain of +25% per year. Plus, you may download 220 Zacks Rank #5 "Strong Sells." Even though this list holds many stocks that seem to be solid, it has historically performed 6X worse than the market. See these critical buys and sells free >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Click for Free Inogen, Inc (INGN) Stock Analysis Report >>
Click for Free Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. (AXDX) Stock Analysis Report >>
Click for Free Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX) Stock Analysis Report >>
Click for Free Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN) Stock Analysis Report >>
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
