GenomeWeb Top 40 Down 2 Percent in January Against Modest Gains in Broader Market

We have made several changes to the GenomeWeb Top 40 based on market cap as of the beginning of trading in January 2024. Bionano Genomics, SomaLogic (which has merged with Standard BioTools), Burning Rock Biotech, Cue Health, and Personalis have been dropped, while Biodesix, MDxHealth, OraSure Technologies, Standard BioTools, and Cytek Biosciences have been added. We will evaluate the index again for changes at the half-year point. All companies included in the Top 40 must trade common stock on one of the major US stock exchanges.

NEW YORK – Stocks of omics and molecular diagnostics companies were down in January despite a slight uptick in the broader market.

Overall, the GenomeWeb Top 40 was down roughly 2 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq were up 1 percent. The Nasdaq Biotech Index, meanwhile, was essentially flat, up less than 1 percent. Of the 40 firms tracked by GenomeWeb, 28 saw their stock prices decline month over month, and 12 saw shares rise in value.

Myriad Genetics led the winners, as its stock rose 12 percent compared to December. At the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference at the beginning of January, the company provided preliminary financial results putting its Q4 2023 revenues at between $196 million and $197 million, above analysts' consensus estimate of $194.4 million and putting Myriad at the high end of its 2023 revenue guidance of between $747 million and $753 million.

During the company's JP Morgan presentation, CEO Paul Diaz said the company has completed its turnaround and highlighted forthcoming developments including the expected Q1 2024 launch of its expanded carrier screening assay, Foresight Universal Plus, and the 2025 launch of its first minimal residual disease monitoring test.

Myriad also announced in January plans to acquire assets from Intermountain Precision Genomics' laboratory business, including the Precise Tumor Test, the Precise Liquid Test, and a CLIA-certified laboratory in St. George, Utah.

Biodesix posted the second-largest gain in stock price, with shares up 9 percent month over month, though reasons for this rise were unclear.

Castle Biosciences posted the third-largest gain, with shares up 7 percent month over month. During the JP Morgan conference, the company released preliminary financial results, including more than $210 million in 2023 revenues, above its previous guidance of at least $200 million. This would represent revenue growth of at least 53 percent year over year.

In a note to investors, Canaccord Genuity analyst Kyle Mikson maintained the bank's Buy rating and a $35 price target for the stock and said that it believes "valuation levels will increase as uncertainty related to test reimbursement is lifted in the near to medium term."

Spatial biology firm NanoString Technologies posted the largest drop in stock price in January, with shares down 45 percent month over month. The company, which has struggled after losing a patent infringement lawsuit against 10x Genomics in November, said during the month that it was laying off roughly 50 employees, or about 9 percent of its workforce. It also received a delisting notice from the Nasdaq on Jan. 4 because its common stock had closed below the $1.00 per share minimum bid price for the previous 30 consecutive business days.

Invitae posted the second-largest drop in January, with shares down 38 percent compared to December. During the month, the company sold reproductive health assets including its carrier screening and prenatal screening businesses to Natera for roughly $52.5 million. The sale is expected to help reduce operating expenses by approximately $44 million annually, excluding one-time severance-related payments. The move was part of a longer-term effort by Invitae to reduce its cash burn and expenses.

Pacific Biosciences posted the third-largest share price drop in January, with shares down 34 percent month over month. The company announced preliminary Q4 2023 revenues of $58.4 million, more than double compared to the year-ago period, and noted that it had shipped a record number of sequencers in 2023. However, PacBio saw Q4 sales of its new Revio sequencer decline sequentially and come in below some analysts' expectations.

The company also faced a legal decision in January that clears the way for the resumption of a patent infringement dispute with Personal Genomics that could potentially impact its new Revio sequencer.