360Dx Top 30 Rebounds From Months of Decline, Rising 9 Percent in November

NEW YORK – After a monthslong downward slide, the 360Dx Top 30 staged a partial recovery in November, rising more than 9 percent month over month.

The increase mirrored the uptick in the broader market. Last month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 11 percent month over month. The Nasdaq Biotech Index rose 5 percent compared to October.

The Top 30's largest gainers were CareDx (+79 percent), LumiraDx (+70 percent), and Natera (+42 percent). The decliners were led by Accelerate Diagnostics (-29 percent), Invitae (-16 percent), and Burning Rock Biotech (-13 percent).

CareDx last month announced its Q3 financial results, and although its year-over-year revenues declined 15 percent to $67.2 million, the company said its test volumes are stabilizing, and it has completed a large clinical study it launched in 2018. In light of the results, CareDx raised its full-year 2023 financial guidance to between $274 million and $278 million.

BTIG analyst Mark Massaro wrote in a note to investors that there have been "multiple positive developments" at the company, and it is "certainly possible that the stock has bottomed." He noted that he "would like to see at least one or more quarters of continued operational improvement" before recommending the stock, however.

The company also announced the resignation of President and CEO Reginald Seeto in November. He will remain as senior advisor to the chairperson, and the firm has established a three-person Office of the CEO as it seeks a permanent CEO.

In contrast, LumiraDx had no significant news to explain its share price increase last month, although the firm's very low trading price makes it particularly susceptible to market fluctuations and small changes.

Like CareDx, Natera also benefitted from the announcement of its Q3 financial results. The company's revenues were up 27 percent to $268.3 million, driven by test volume growth and improvements in average selling price. The firm's Signatera minimal residual disease testing business increased 85 percent year over year, exceeding Natera's internal forecast, and the company also saw strong revenue growth in women's health and oncology, it said. Natera also raised its full-year revenue guidance to between $1.04 billion and $1.05 billion from its previous expectations of $1.02 billion to $1.04 billion.

Rachel Vatnsdal, an analyst with JP Morgan, wrote in a note to investors that Natera's third quarter "was an impressive quarter by virtually all metrics" and that she was "especially encouraged by the profitability improvement behind the company's commercial execution and strategy that is continuing to bear fruit."

Among the decliners, Accelerate Diagnostics also announced its Q3 financial results. The firm's net sales increased 10 percent to $3.3 million, which it said was largely due to capital equipment sales. It placed six Pheno instruments during the quarter and secured more than 20 existing customers in multi-year contract extensions, the firm noted.

Toward the end of the month, Accelerate also announced that it has signed an agreement to combine Bruker's MALDI Biotyper tools with Accelerate's Arc sample preparation system. The firms will validate the use of the Arc system for automated positive blood culture sample prep with Bruker's MALDI Biotyper Sirius instruments and Sepsityper software for registration in both the US and EMEA markets.

Like most of the firms tracked by 360Dx, Invitae also reported its Q3 financial results last month. The firm saw a 9 percent decline in revenues year over year due to exited businesses and geographies in the previous year. However, it noted that when taking the exited businesses into account, its sales were up 4 percent year over year. The company also took a restructuring and impairment charge of $877.3 million for the quarter compared to $125.2 million for such charges in Q3 2022.

Cowen analyst Dan Brennan wrote in a note to investors that language in Invitae's Form 10-Q filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission "signals substantial doubt" in the company's future viability one year out. The firm has initiated a special board committee to "explore different financing options to bridge the company to free cash flow positivity," he noted.

Also last month, diagnostics software and services company Aranscia announced that it acquired select assets of pharmacogenomics decision support firm YouScript from Invitae for an undisclosed amount. Invitae previously decided to sell YouScript after it chose to discontinue PGx testing.

*Bio-Techne paid a dividend of $.08 per share on November 9.

**Labcorp paid a dividend of $.72 per share on November 7.