GenomeWeb Top 40 Declines 9 Percent in September, Marking Second Consecutive Down Month

NEW YORK – Stocks of molecular diagnostics and omics companies were down in September, as the space followed a slump in the broader market.

Overall, the GenomeWeb Top 40 was down roughly 9 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also down 9 percent, while the Nasdaq was down 11 percent. The Nasdaq Biotech Index was more resilient, down around 2 percent. Of the 40 firms tracked by GenomeWeb, 37 saw their stock prices decline month over month, and three saw shares rise in value.

Immunoassay firm Quanterix led the winners, as its stock rose 18 percent month over month, recouping some of its value after a 42 percent drop in August following the announcement during its Q2 2022 earnings call that it has launched a restructuring and assay redevelopment plan to address quality control issues with its high sensitivity immunoassays.

Ginkgo Bioworks posted a 16 percent rise in share price during September. There were no obvious developments driving that rise.

Liquid biopsy outfit Guardant Health saw its stock rise 8 percent month over month. The company announced at the beginning of September that it has expanded its collaboration with Merck KGaA to use its GuardantINFORM real-world evidence platform for development work in the pharma firm's precision oncology pipeline.

Genetic testing firm Burning Rock Biotech posted the largest decline in September as its stock fell 39 percent. The company was one of the GW Top 40's biggest winners in August with shares up 23 percent.

Proteomics company Seer was down 23 percent month over month. In August, JP Morgan downgraded the firm from an Overweight to a Neutral rating after its Q2 revenue fell short of the bank's estimates.

In a note to investors, JP Morgan Analyst Julia Qin said that Q2 revenue of $2.5 million from customers other than Seer spinoff PrognomIQ was lower than the bank had projected and noted that "lengthened sales cycles from COVID and macroeconomic headwinds" presented challenges that will persist into the second half of the year.

Berkeley Lights was down 22 percent in September. The company is in the middle of a reorganization plan it announced this summer under which it laid off 12 percent of its workforce and moved to narrow its R&D focus.

*Becton Dickinson paid a dividend of $.87 on Sept. 8.

**Danaher paid a dividend of $.25 on Sept. 29.

***Thermo Fisher Scientific paid a dividend of $.30 on Sept. 14.