Goldman Sachs Cuts Myriad Genetics To Sell, Ups Alere

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) will face mounting evidence in the first-quarter earnings season of dwindling market share and increased price competition, an analyst said Monday.

Neutral Ratings

Goldman Sachs' Isaac Ro downgraded the molecular diagnostic company to Sell from Neutral, slashing his price target 19 percent to $25.

Ro also expects Myriad's new investments in growth to prove more costly than expected.

While adjusting several price targets among diagnostics companies, the analyst also downgraded Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) to Neutral and raised his rating on Alere Inc (NYSE: ALR) also to Neutral.

A significant speedup in testing volume for Exact Sciences is unlikely until 2016, Ro said, while adoption of its Cologuard product will be slower than expected.

Changed PTs, But Still Neutral

In addition to Ro's price target cut on Exact by 17 percent to $24, he also cut his target on T2 Biosystems Inc (NASDAQ: TTOO) 16 percent to $21 and raised his target on Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD) 27 percent to $59, maintaining Neutral ratings on the latter companies.

Related Link: Is It Closing Time At The Biotech Bar?

Alere Upgrade

At Alere, Ro cited the company's recent, positive fourth-quarter surprise and said its plan to focus on toxicology as well as point-of-care diagnostic products may produce wider margins.

Ro raised his target on Alere 12 percent to $47, but said he'd wait for more evidence of improved earnings before becoming bullish.

Buy-Rated Companies

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX), the only Buy-rated company on Ro's list, got a 14 percent price target boost to $39.

Hologic has sizable international growth opportunities, in Ro's view.