Abbott has started shipping its BinaxNOW Covid-19 AG Self-Test kits across the country. Consumers can place orders online or purchase from retail stores in the next few days as nationwide availability is scheduled for the coming two weeks.
The over-the-counter (OTC) self-test kit will come in 2-count packs priced at $23.99. Once it hits the market, it will be the most affordable OTC COVID-19 rapid test. Abbott (ABT) is the only manufacturer in the U.S. with emergency authorization to sell self-test kits for COVID-19.
CVS Health (CVS), Walgreens (WBA), and Walmart (WMT) are some of the retailers that will carry the kit at the start. Abbott has confirmed that it can be purchased over-the-counter without a prescription. Plans are also underway to make the kits available in other major food, drug, and mass merchandisers.
Abbott intends to manufacture tens of millions of the BinaxNOW Self-Tests per month. It plans to scale capacity depending on demand. Distribution will be prioritized based on demand, focusing on areas where the virus is surging.
“Over the past year, Abbott has developed high-quality rapid testing and invested in U.S. facilities to scale up manufacturing so we could bring affordable testing to Americans on a mass scale,” stated Abbott’s CEO and President, Robert B. Ford.
ABT’s share price is up about 9% year to date after a 26% gain last year. (See Abbott stock analysis on TipRanks)
Raymond James’s analyst, Jayson Bedford has a Buy rating on the stock. The analyst has a $134.89 price target implying 12% upside potential from current levels.
Abbott Labs is currently rated a Strong Buy on Wall Street based on 9 Buys and 2 Holds. The average analyst price target of $134 implies 11.86% upside potential to current levels.
ABT scores a 9 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system which indicates that the stock is likely to outperform the overall market.
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