Top Specialty Lab Stocks to Watch This Earnings Season, According to BTIG

 Several specialty lab companies are set to report third-quarter results in early November, with analysts at BTIG outlining key metrics and expectations for the sector’s leading names. The firm has identified three stocks positioned for potential upside, though each faces distinct tests as investors scrutinize guidance, volume trends, and strategic updates.

Guardant Health

BTIG-- which lists Guardant as its top pick in the sector-- anticipates a strong third quarter and another revenue beat, continuing the company’s long streak of consecutive beats. The Street is looking for a proportionate raise to full-year guidance. The swing factor is Shield screening volume, where BTIG models below what it believes investors are expecting. Core oncology, led by G360, should remain strong, with Reveal MRD adding lift. Management commentary may matter as much as the quarter itself. Investors want color on pricing with newly signed payors, further coverage wins, and Guardant’s multi-cancer detection plans after GRAIL’s favorable advisory panel outcome. The company reports November 5.

BillionToOne

BTIG’s tone for BillionToOne’s third quarter is deliberately modest, expecting a small revenue beat and an unchanged full-year guide without a meaningful sequential step-up. The quarter is about rebuilding confidence after the second-quarter selloff. Key tests include whether prenatal volumes hold as new sales reps ramp, whether oncology shows early traction, and whether management gives a concrete update on the MRD launch. Potential upside comes from payment on claims a new national payor held back in the second quarter, which management expects in the third or fourth quarter. Investors will also want management’s read on proposed Medicare rates, which BTIG calls a mixed outcome. BillionToOne reports November 4.

Natera

BTIG expects a strong print and a beat big enough to support a higher guide, though it concedes the beats are harder to call once one-time true-ups are stripped out. Investors want to see a clear beat beyond those true-ups. The headline metric is Signatera MRD volume, where the Street is looking for another record sequential gain, likely above BTIG’s own estimate, along with signs of better pricing. The other theme is 2027 spending, and commentary on investment in rare disease, early detection and AI could temper the reaction. Management’s response to the proposed Medicare cut for Panorama will also be watched.