Oxford Nanopore target price hiked to 196p by Panmure Liberum on strategic pivot

What Brokers Say Health Written by: Ian Lyall 12:00 Mon 24 Aug 2026 --> Edited by: Jamie Ashcroft Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC ( LSE:ONT ) View Price & Profile Oxford Nanopore target price hiked to 196p by Panmure Liberum on strategic pivot Published: 12:00 24 Aug 2026 BST Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC (LSE:ONT) secured an upgrade to a 'buy' rating from Panmure Liberum on Monday, as analysts cheered a lucrative diagnostics deal despite lingering strategic risks. The shares traded at 165.90p, down 2.41%, even as the broker hiked its target price to 196 pence from 170 pence to reflect the evolving business model. At the heart of the update is a sweeping strategy review led by the chief executive, focusing on pushing differentiated long-read sequencing technology into the high-value biopharma market. That shift includes a global cross-licensing agreement with an unnamed diagnostics firm, promising a $20 million upfront payment and $15 million in committed product purchases over the next two years. That cash is expected to cushion near-term operating expenses and offset product rationalisation headwinds, helping to shrink projected near-term core losses even as the broker prudently trims its broader revenue estimates. In the same note, Panmure highlighted a comfortable half-year earnings beat, pointing out that the adjusted core loss narrowed significantly to £22.1 million on resilient, scaling gross margins. Such disciplined cash conservation remains essential for the life sciences group to hit its newly minted long-term targets, which aim for cash flow breakeven by the 2028 financial year. Hanging over it all is the heavy reliance on rapid biopharma sector adoption, as key customers must transition from validation to full commercial use to bankroll the group's ambitious revenue targets. Continue reading