360Dx Top 30 Grows 8 Percent, Continues Upward Climb

NEW YORK – The 360Dx Top 30 continued its upward momentum in November, rising 8 percent month over month after a slight increase in October.

The Top 30 beat the broader market as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6 percent month over month, while the Nasdaq increased 4 percent. The Nasdaq Biotech Index also grew 6 percent.

The Top 30's highest gainers were NeoGenomics (+47 percent), Veracyte (+38 percent), and Exact Sciences (+29 percent). The decliners were led by CareDx (-35 percent), Accelerate Diagnostics (-32 percent), and Opko Health (-21 percent).

Many of the gainers last month were buoyed by quarterly financial results, including NeoGenomics. In its first quarter with a new CEO, the company reported a 6 percent increase in Q3 revenues to $128.8 million. The firm's clinical services revenues grew 4 percent, while pharma services revenues increased 18 percent. Although clinical test volume declined 1 percent, the average revenue per test rose 5 percent.

Alex Nowak, a senior research analyst with Craig-Hallum, wrote in a note to investors that the quarter was "a step in the right direction" for the firm and provided "just a glimpse of [NeoGenomics] returning to our thesis of bringing next-gen cancer tests to the masses."

NeoGenomics also announced later in the month that it has partnered with ImmunoGen to launch a biomarker testing program for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer to identify those whose tumors express the folate receptor alpha protein. Under the deal, ImmunoGen will cover the cost for eligible patients to have NeoGenomics test their tumor samples.

At the start of last month, Veracyte announced that its Q3 revenues grew 25 percent year over year to $75.6 million and beat the consensus Wall Street estimate. As a result, the firm raised its full-year revenue guidance to between $288 million and $293 million from $272 million to $280 million. 

Exact Sciences also reported Q3 revenue growth early last month, saying that its revenues increased 15 percent compared to Q3 2021. The growth was the result of rising revenues from its screening and precision oncology businesses, which countered a 64 percent decline in COVID-19 testing revenues. The company reported revenues of $523.1 million, up from $456.4 million in the prior-year quarter.

BTIG analyst Mark Massaro wrote in a note to investors that the company is "now showing more discipline on spending" and that he is "impressed with the company's newer focus on exercising discipline on the bottom line and pulling forward its profitability target." 

Last month's decliners were also likely impacted by their financial results. CareDx announced in November that its third quarter revenues grew 5 percent year over year to $79.4 million but missed analysts' estimates. The firm's testing services revenue fell 3 percent, while product revenue grew 11 percent. Patient and digital solutions revenue, meanwhile, nearly tripled. The impact of foreign currency, staffing shortages in HLA laboratories, and decreased living donor kidney transplants all had an effect on CareDx's growth, President and CEO Reg Seeto said on a conference call to discuss the results.

In a separate note to investors, Massaro wrote that although he's been disappointed by CareDx's results, "it is entirely possible that transplant center staffing shortages and moderation in transplant growth industry-wide are bigger impacts than investor concerns about increasing competition … though we think this will become clearer over the coming quarters." He added that the firm can realize $100 million of revenue "on tests they are doing now that aren't getting paid (yet)." 

Accelerate Diagnostics announced last month that its third quarter revenues were down 3 percent to $3.0 million. The company added six contracted instruments and brought nine instruments live in the US during Q3 and is in the process of implementing 18 more US-based contracted instruments.

Opko Health, meantime, reported that its Q3 2022 revenues decreased 53 percent to $179.7 million from $385.8 million in the previous year's third quarter. Diagnostic services revenue fell 58 percent, largely due to a 91 percent drop in COVID-19 testing performed by subsidiary BioReference Laboratories. Product revenue declined 12 percent, while revenue from transfers of intellectual property decreased 49 percent.

*Bio-Techne paid a dividend of $.08 per share on Nov. 10. The firm underwent a 4-for-1 stock split on Nov. 30.

**Labcorp paid a dividend of $.72 per share on Nov. 16.