NEW YORK – Following a drop in April and May, share prices for companies in the GenomeWeb index came back last month.
Overall, the index climbed almost 11 percent in June over the previous month, beating the Dow Jones Industrial and the Nasdaq, both of which rose 7 percent, and the Nasdaq Biotech Index, which increased about 9 percent.
Share prices of 26 companies in the GenomeWeb index gained last month, led by Invitae (+35 percent), Veracyte (+26 percent), Natera (+20 percent), Illumina (+20 percent), and Bruker (+20 percent).
Four companies in the index saw their shares go down, with the steepest drop experienced by Pacific Biosciences (-10 percent).
Invitae's stock profited from the announcement June 17 of its $55 million acquisition of Singular Bio, which focuses on cell-free DNA technology for noninvasive prenatal testing. The company rebounded from a stock drop of more than 26 percent in May.
Veracyte early last month announced new data showing potential for its Afirma Xpression Atlas genomic test to guide the targeted treatment of medullary thyroid cancer. Also, a review article published last month showed how the technology behind its Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier and Xpression Atlas is helping to reduce unnecessary surgeries in thyroid cancer diagnosis. On June 26, the firm said it has started making its Percepta Genomic Sequencing Classifier available to physicians.
Meanwhile, Pacific Biosciences' shares dropped on news June 18 that UK regulators are further investigating its proposed acquisition by Illumina. The deal, originally announced in November 2018, was supposed to close mid year and is now expected to close in the fourth quarter. The investigation did not affect Illumina's stock, though, which gained 20 percent in June.
