What happened
Shares of Fluidigm (NASDAQ: FLDM) fell Thursday after a powerful rival announced a major development in the diagnostic race COVID-19.
So what
What a difference a day makes. After hitting 30% on Wednesday after news that its saliva-based coronavirus test had received an emergency permit from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Fluidigm today gave up all that profit.
The share of Fluidigm has made a round trip over the past two days. Image Source: Getty Images.
Yesterday, investors were excited about the potentially massive market opportunity for Fluidigm’s new test. Today, however, they are decidedly less so, according to news that healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) had also been granted an emergency use permit by the FDA.
Well what
Abbott’s test reportedly costs only $ 5 and can deliver results in just 15 minutes. It also does not require any special lab equipment. And their results can be viewed through a free app that Abbott says could potentially be used as a “temporary digital health pass.” The health care titan expects demand to be strong for its new test, and it is increasing production to deliver 50 million tests per month by early October.
For these reasons – and although it is not a saliva-based test, like that of Fluidigm – Abbott’s test is considered a major breakthrough in the fight against COVID-19. In turn, investors raised their growth expectations for Fluidigm, and the share price fell in kind.
