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Why Did Oxford Nanopore Technologies (LSE:ONT) Move Today?

Simply Wall St · 1d ago

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (LSE:ONT) has moved into the spotlight after fresh collaboration news from California and India, alongside renewed discussion of its BioPharma, Clinical and AI related opportunities.

Recent events seem to be reshaping the story for Oxford Nanopore Technologies, even if the path has been bumpy in the short term. The share price return over the past 90 days is up 62.73%, while the year to date share price return is 60.31%. This suggests momentum has picked up, despite a 30 day share price return that is down 5.44% and a 7 day share price return that is down 2.47%. This sits alongside a 1 year total shareholder return of 50.55% but only 1.79% over three years and a decline of 66.69% over five years. Taken together, these figures imply that investors are still reassessing long term risks and opportunities as new collaborations and BioPharma, Clinical and AI commentary come through.

Scan other high-conviction genomics and AI exposed opportunities on our 9 healthcare AI stocks as you assess what Oxford Nanopore Technologies' latest collaborations could mean for your portfolio.

After a 62.73% move in 90 days and a five year record that still shows a 66.69% decline, Oxford Nanopore Technologies now forces a choice: pay up today, or keep waiting for a reset that may not come together cleanly in the numbers?

Preferred Price-to-Sales of 8.5x: Is it justified?

Oxford Nanopore Technologies closed at £2.05, while the value checks show a P/S ratio of 8.5x that sits well above peers and fair value estimates. This points to a demanding set of expectations baked into the current share price.

P/S compares the market value of a company to its annual revenue, which can be useful for businesses like Oxford Nanopore Technologies where earnings are still negative and traditional P/E metrics do not yet apply. In this case, the latest figures show revenue of £235.0m alongside a reported loss of £121.4m, so investors are effectively paying for top line scale and future potential rather than current profitability.

The fair P/S ratio estimate is 6.6x, and the current 8.5x level is described as expensive relative to that benchmark. This suggests a lower multiple is a level the market could move towards if sentiment cools. The stock is also flagged as expensive against the European Life Sciences industry average P/S of 3.7x and a peer group average of 3.1x, so the premium is not marginal; it is more than double what similar businesses trade on in some cases.

Explore the SWS fair ratio for Oxford Nanopore Technologies.

Result: Price-to-Sales of 8.5x (OVERVALUED)

Still, the Oxford Nanopore Technologies story faces clear pressure points if revenue growth slows from its latest 16.22% pace, or if losses of £121.4m deepen.

Find out about the key risks to this Oxford Nanopore Technologies narrative.

Another View: What The SWS DCF Model Says

The earlier discussion described Oxford Nanopore Technologies as expensive on an 8.5x P/S multiple. The SWS DCF model presents a different perspective. On that framework, the shares at £2.05 are around 36.3% below an estimated future cash flow value of £3.22, which frames recent price weakness as potential upside rather than excess.

For readers who want to see how that cash flow view is built line by line, Look into how the SWS DCF model arrives at its fair value.

ONT Discounted Cash Flow as at Nov 2026
ONT Discounted Cash Flow as at Nov 2026

Simply Wall St performs a discounted cash flow (DCF) on every stock in the world every day (check out Oxford Nanopore Technologies for example). We show the entire calculation in full. You can track the result in your watchlist or portfolio and be alerted when this changes, or use our stock screener to discover 17 high quality undervalued stocks. If you save a screener we even alert you when new companies match - so you never miss a potential opportunity.

Next Steps

Mixed messages in the Oxford Nanopore Technologies story, with both pressure points and bright spots, mean the next move rests with you. Look through the full picture and weigh the 2 key rewards and 2 important warning signs

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