We like these medical spinoffs

Article Excerpt

A key benefit of spinoffs is the creation of pure-play firms that focus on a narrow market. Here are two medical-related spinoff situations that should benefit their investors for years to come. LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA, or LABCORP, $217 is a spinoff buy. The company (New York symbol LH; Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 90.4 million; Market cap: $19.6 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.labcorp.com) provides clinical laboratory services from locations throughout North America. It also offers drug development services such as research and clinical trial management. The company plans to spin off its Clinical Development business as a separate firm called Fortrea. That business is a contract research organization (CRO) that provides clinical drug trial management to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Labcorp expects to complete the spinoff in the second half of 2023. Meantime, in the three months ended March 31, 2023, Labcorp’s revenue decreased 3.1%, to $3.78 billion from $3.90 billion a year earlier. Sales were down due to lower COVID-19 PCR and…