360Dx Top 30 Continues Downward Slide, Falling 11 Percent in October

NEW YORK – The 360Dx Top 30 declined another 11 percent in October, further continuing its decline from September.

The drop was wider than the loss in the broader market. Last month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1 percent and the Nasdaq fell 3 percent month over month. The Nasdaq Biotech Index fell 7 percent compared to September.

The Top 30's largest gainers were Genetron (+42 percent), NeoGenomics (+14 percent), and Quest Diagnostics (+7 percent). The decliners were led by LumiraDx (-58 percent), Cue Health (-32 percent), and Revvity (-25 percent).

Genetron had no significant news last month, but its stock price benefited from undergoing a 1-for-3 reverse stock split on Oct. 26.

NeoGenomics introduced two new cancer tests in October: its Neo Comprehensive – Heme Cancers panel for comprehensive genomic profiling of hematologic malignancies and its Early-stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Panel for therapy selection.

Quest Diagnostics, meantime, had a busy October. The firm announced at the beginning of last month that it had entered a strategic lab services agreement with dialysis company Neway to speed up dialysis lab testing and reduce testing costs for patients with end-stage renal disease.

The firm also licensed Diadem's AlzoSure Predict Alzheimer's blood test, allowing Quest to develop, validate, and market the assay as a laboratory-developed test in the US. At the end of the month, Quest announced that it would offer $750 million in aggregated principal amount senior notes.

The firm's most important piece of news in October, however, was the announcement of its Q3 financial results. Quest reported an 8 percent year-over-year decline in Q3 revenues, although its base business grew 5 percent compared to Q3 2022. Base testing business revenues grew 5 percent to $2.27 billion, while COVID-19 testing revenues dropped 92 percent to $26 million.

Among the decliners, LumiraDx received a notice from Nasdaq that it was subject to delisting from the stock exchange. The firm previously received a notice in April that it did not comply with the $1.00 minimum bid requirement and had until Oct. 18 to regain compliance. Unless the company appeals the delisting determination, trading of its securities will be suspended on Nov. 2.

Cue Health, meantime, received a second letter from shareholders expressing concerns about the company's business plan and financial operations. The company received a letter at the end of August from investment firm Tarsadia Investments outlining its concerns and recommending that the company undergo a strategic review of its long-term business plan and realign its cost structure. In October, a second group of shareholders sent a letter reaffirming Tarsadia's recommendations and emphasizing the importance of reducing Cue's cash burn and refocusing on its core diagnostic business.

Revvity also had a key piece of news driving its stock price drop in October. At the end of the month, the company reported that its Q3 revenues fell 6 percent year over year due to weaker demand from pharma and biotech customers for instruments and consumables. The firm missed the consensus Wall Street estimate and adjusted its full-year guidance downward.

The company also last month announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Danaher subsidiary Sciex to improve the accuracy of mass spectrometry-based disease screening in newborns by combining Sciex's mass spectrometry instruments and Revvity's reagents.

*Abbott paid a dividend of $.51 per share on Oct. 12.

**Danaher paid a dividend of $.27 per share on Oct. 11.

***Genetron underwent a 1:3 stock split on Oct. 26.

****Quest Diagnostics paid a dividend of $.71 per share on Oct. 5.

*****Revvity paid a dividend of $.07 per share on Oct. 19.