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Top Picks Daily Alert - 01/03/19

Analysts expect this medical data company to grow at an annual rate of 30% over the next five years.

Analysts expect this medical data company to grow at an annual rate of 30% over the next five years.

Catasys, Inc. (CATS)
From Nate’s Notes

For more speculative investors, one of my favorite stocks in the newsletter as 2019 gets underway is Catasys, Inc. (CATS). This up -and-coming company has developed a proprietary data analysis platform that it combines with predictive modeling techniques to identify individuals in a healthcare plan who suffer from chronic conditions. But, because they may not be receiving the support they need to successfully manage these underlying conditions, they end up also costing the plan a great deal of money on other “secondary” items like ambulance transports and visits to the ER that can be prevented (or minimized) with even a small increase in the amount of support that is provided to the patient.

Once individuals in a plan have been identified as good candidates for success, Catasys’ OnTrak program kicks in and a 52-week intensive outpatient program begins in which the patients are engaged and provided with nurses (or other appropriately qualified “coaches,” depending on the underlying situation), sometimes in person, sometimes via video conferencing (or perhaps both). This coach proactively works with the patient to gain better control of their underlying condition (which, in turn, leads to fewer “secondary” events in the patient’s life).

And, while this field is admittedly heating up in a hurry as more and more health records become digitized (and the data therefore becomes “mine-able”), Catasys is one of the companies that is enjoying “first to market” status. And, provided that can continue to deliver the sorts of results it has been delivering thus far, the company ought to be able to stay ahead of the competition for the foreseeable future.

CATS is a strong buy under $10 and a buy under $15.

Nate Pile, Nate’s Notes, www.NotWallStreet.com, 707-433-7903, December 28, 2018