NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The GenomeWeb Index lost more than 3 percent in May, following a similar-sized dip in April and in line with an overall decline in the stock market.
Despite the loss, the index outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq, and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, which lost 7 percent, 8 percent, and 6 percent, respectively. Individual stocks in the GenomeWeb Index were mostly down in May, with 21 of the 30 stocks posting losses and nine stocks recording gains.
Invitae (-26 percent), Myriad Genetics (-21 percent), and Genomic Health (-19 percent) saw the steepest losses, while Natera (+20 percent), Guardant Health (+17 percent), and CareDx (+16 percent) gained the most.
Invitae's first-quarter results, announced May 7, fell short of expectations, even though the company reported a 47 percent increase in revenues, resulting in a 20 percent drop of the company's share price the next day.
Likewise, Myriad Genetics' first-quarter revenues, despite an 18 percent increase, remained under Wall Street's consensus estimate, leading to a 21 percent decline in its share price the next day.
While Genomic Health reported a 17 percent increase in revenues for the first quarter, beating Wall Street expectations, the company's stock price still fell 11 percent the following day.
Among those companies who gained the most in May, Natera benefited from strong first-quarter revenues that beat analyst estimates. In addition, the company announced in May that the US Food and Drug Administration granted it a breakthrough device designation for its circulating tumor DNA test, Signatera, and it received a draft coverage determination from Medicare contractor Noridian for its donor-derived cell-free DNA test, Prospera.
Guardant Health, meanwhile, also posted strong revenue growth for the first quarter, beating analyst estimates. Furthermore, the firm announced the launch of a large prospective clinical trial to test its Lunar liquid biopsy for the detection of colorectal cancer in asymptomatic individuals.
Finally, CareDx posted an 84 percent increase in first quarter revenues in May, beating analyst expectations.
