NEW YORK – Invitae's shares fell more than 70 percent throughout Monday on reports that the company is preparing to file for bankruptcy.
A story published Monday in the Wall Street Journal cited sources "familiar with the matter" as saying that the San Francisco-based company had hired restructuring advisers and begun preparing to file for bankruptcy "within weeks."
The news sent Invitae's shares down 77 percent on the Nasdaq at the end of Monday at less than $.09 per share. In early morning trading Tuesday, its share price was unchanged.
Invitae has seen its market cap fall from $7 billion in 2020 to around $33 million this month.
A spokesperson for Invitae said that the company does not comment on market rumors and speculation and pointed to the company's third quarter earnings release, which stated that the firm was "engaging with stakeholders to strengthen the balance sheet, and the board of directors has formed a special committee focused on improving the company's capital structure."Invitae has been working to improve its financial position over the past couple of years. The company embarked on a restructuring effort in mid-2022, which included broad layoffs and the elimination of non-core operations. It also began selling many of its assets, beginning with its Archer NGS research assays, which Integrated DNA Technologies acquired.
Invitae later divested its Ciitizen health data platform and most recently sold its reproductive health assets to Natera.
If the San Francisco-based genetic testing firm does file for bankruptcy, it will follow closely on the heels of genomics firm NanoString Technologies, which filed for bankruptcy protection this past weekend.