What happened
Shares of Co-Diagnostics (CODX -0.87%) are up by more than 5% as of 9:52 a.m. ET on Monday after the company reported that it sent the first shipment of its new molecular diagnostic test for monkeypox to one of its customers outside the U.S.
While management didn't offer any information about where the customer operates or about the expected revenue from the sale, it specified that the new test was conceived and produced on a rapid timetable to serve the customer's needs. The initial research and development (R&D) work for the test wrapped up on May 26, so going from concept design to shipping the product only took a little more than a month.
So what
Co-Diagnostics is known for its molecular coronavirus tests, thanks to which its trailing-12-month revenue has increased by an incredible 85,700% over the past three years, reaching more than $100.5 million. Over the past 12 months, however, declining demand for coronavirus tests caused the company's TTM revenue to drop by around 3.9%.
While it currently looks unlikely that monkeypox testing will become as lucrative as coronavirus testing was, shipping the new diagnostics indicates that the company is still actively exploring and successfully pursuing new opportunities for growth in its infectious disease segment.
Now what
The revenue from sales of the monkeypox tests won't be recognized on Co-Diagnostics' next earnings report, which is expected to come out the week of August 10, but management might opt to give investors some preliminary figures. Sales of its coronavirus products are likely to continue to attenuate, so any sign of fresh and durable top-line growth on the horizon will be key for its stock price.
