(Bloomberg) -- Oxford Nanopore Technologies Plc, the DNA-sequencing firm whose shares have plunged since going public, is setting its sights on FTSE 250 index inclusion that would widen the pool of potential investors.
“We’re in the process of getting ourselves into the FTSE 250,” Chief Executive Officer Gordon Sanghera said in an interview. “Increased liquidity will be very beneficial.”
Inclusion in FTSE indexes typically leads to inflows because funds that passively track the benchmarks have to buy shares. That could give a much-needed boost to Oxford Nanopore, which has seen its stock sink 70% since it was hailed a British success story at its initial public offering three years ago.
Oxford Nanopore, which is currently valued at £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion), had given Sanghera a special class of shares with extra power to block an unwanted takeover, though that’s set to expire on Oct. 5. The share class meant the firm was on the “standard” segment of the London Stock Exchange, making it ineligible for membership in FTSE benchmark stock indexes.
It’s now part of the “transition” category following the Financial Conduct Authority’s new rules, which came into effect at the end of July. The company said it plans to apply for admission to another category, known as Equity Shares in Commercial Companies, by the end of 2024. That would make it eligible for FTSE indexation, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Sanghera blamed the stock’s poor performance since the IPO on a macro-economic environment that has been unsupportive for high-growth companies on a path to profitability.
“We’re well capitalized, we’ve got a good vote of confidence from Novo Holdings who invested recently and we’re very excited about executing on our unique value proposition in this market,” Sanghera said. “We think that should — over time — bring the share price back to a better place.”
--With assistance from Ashleigh Furlong.
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