Tempus AI Inc. shares surged 10.6% to $67.80 in midday trading on Tuesday, extending gains after BTIG raised its price target on the stock to $80 while maintaining a Buy rating.
The move followed positive Phase 3 results from a Merck & Co. and Moderna collaboration, which demonstrated that a personalized mRNA-based cancer therapy combined with Keytruda significantly improved recurrence-free survival in high-risk melanoma patients. Investors linked the trial’s validation to Tempus AI’s pending $1.5 billion all-stock acquisition of Personalis Inc., whose NeXT Personal minimal residual disease test was used in the sequencing pipeline.
Tempus AI, which reported its first-ever quarterly GAAP profit of $5.6 million in the latest quarter, posted revenue of $382.5 million, a 22% year-over-year increase. The company also raised its full-year revenue guidance to approximately $1.6 billion.
CEO Eric Lefkofsky characterized the minimal residual disease market as a more than $20 billion opportunity and one of the fastest-growing segments in oncology diagnostics. The broader market declined, with the S&P 500 down 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 0.9%.
