Invitro fertilization (IV) has given many childless couples and women looking to put off children until late in life a lot of hope. In fact, it is almost taken for granted that IV procedures would work out and the public imagination regarding this technology assumes a high rate of success. Sadly, this is far from the real picture of IV fertilization. Not only are traditional IV rates quite low, traditional IV procedures are quite expensive. This is where OvaScience (NASDAQ:OVAS) comes in.
OvaScience uses a different fertilization approach than traditional IV processes. According to the March conference of the Society for Reproductive Investigation, OvaScience’s procedures’ success rate is higher than traditional IV. Still, this didn’t prevent a recent slide of the company’s stock.
The slide in OvaScience stock has triggered analysts covering the stock to reiterate their buy recommendations. It remains to be seen whether the company’s augment technology can truly capture the huge commercial opportunity available in the fertility market in both the US and overseas. Judging from demographic patterns, as more and more affluent countries see a shift in reproductive patterns, reproductive technologies such as that offered by OvaScience have huge potential markets. The trend of women holding off having children until they are in their 40s isn’t unique to the United States. As countries like Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, (in addition to European markets) experience the same trend, expect the international demand for technology that lowers the price of IV treatments or increase the success rates of such procedures to continue to grow.
While OvaScience’s stock has seen quite a bit of a seesaw motion lately, it remains a good long-term speculative buy.