GenomeWeb Top 40 up 5 Percent in July, Outperforming Broader Market

NEW YORK – Stocks of molecular diagnostics and omics companies were up in July, slightly outperforming the broader market.

Overall, the GenomeWeb Top 40 was up 5 percent. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 3 percent, while the Nasdaq was up 4 percent, and the Nasdaq Biotech Index was up 1 percent. Of the 40 firms tracked by GenomeWeb, eight saw their stock prices fall month over month, and 32 saw their share prices rise.

Proteomics firm Quantum-Si posted the largest gain in July, as its stock rose 117 percent month over month. The company did not report any news during the month that appeared to drive the gains.

Ginkgo Bioworks had the second-largest gain in July, with shares up 39 percent year over year. The company announced in July that it received a four-year contract worth up to $18 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an on-demand system for manufacturing therapeutic proteins. The company also received a research contract for an undisclosed amount from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) to develop a biosensor capable of continuously recording and storing gene expression data within a microbial genome to aid biosecurity efforts.

Ginkgo also announced in July that it expanded its biomanufacturing partnership with Japanese chemical company Sumitomo Chemical, completed the pilot phase of its partnership with Novo Nordisk to develop expression systems for pharmaceutical products, and entered a collaboration with the Republic of Botswana to conduct surveillance for new and emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 by monitoring wastewater and nasal swabs at key ports of entry.

CareDx posted the third-largest gain in July, with its stock up 28 percent. During the month, the company received Medicare coverage for its AlloSure Lung test for lung transplant rejection monitoring. It also acquired organ transplant supply chain and logistics company MediGo for an undisclosed amount. Additionally in July a court voided damages previously awarded to CareDx in its false advertising suit against Natera. CareDx said it plans to appeal the ruling.

Burning Rock Biotech posted the largest decline in stock price in July, with shares down 16 percent month over month. The company did not report any news that appeared to drive the decline.

Natera reported the second-largest drop in stock price, with shares down 7 percent month over month. As noted above, the company notched a win in its ongoing legal battle with CareDx. Natera also announced in July that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against NeoGenomics related to the latter's Radar molecular residual disease assay.

Bruker posted the third-largest decline during the month, with shares down 7 percent. The company did not report any news that appeared to drive the decline.