New York, February 19, 2026, 05:45 ET — Premarket
- Tempus AI shares edged up roughly 1% in premarket action, building on a 6.9% surge from the previous session.
- The company rolled out a new HRD-RNA algorithm designed to identify patients who are more likely to benefit from specific cancer drugs.
- Mizuho and Baird launched coverage, both assigning Outperform ratings and setting bullish price targets.
Tempus AI, Inc (TEM) ticked up roughly 1.2% to $56.81 ahead of Thursday’s open, tacking on to gains that accelerated the day before. (Yahoo)
It matters this time: Tempus is lining up a new earnings report, fresh off a string of product launches. The stock’s already proven it’s quick to react to any incremental developments. Traders are zeroed in on whether the latest algorithms actually push into wider clinical adoption—and, if so, whether that momentum finally shows up in revenue numbers.
Tempus shares remain far off their 52-week high, so a fresh analyst upgrade or just news about test results could move the stock quickly. Investors tend to lump Tempus in with other precision-oncology and diagnostics players like Guardant Health or Exact Sciences, though the models aren’t exactly the same. (Finviz)
The stock finished Wednesday at $56.16, up 6.85%. It moved between $53.70 and $57.93 through the session, per Investing.com. Around 6.87 million shares changed hands. (Investing)
Tempus out of Chicago has rolled out what’s being called an “HRD-RNA” algorithm—aimed at pinpointing homologous recombination deficiency, a tumor characteristic tied to responsiveness to platinum chemo and PARP inhibitors. Halla Nimeiri, chief development officer, described the release as “a critical tool” for guiding treatment choices. (Businesswire)
The company says its model reads RNA to gauge gene activity, instead of just looking at DNA “scars” that might stick around after a tumor becomes resistant. In a real-world validation study on metastatic pancreatic cancer, patients flagged as HRD-RNA-positive and given platinum regimens in the first line saw lower mortality risk. Clinical availability, the company says, is coming later this year. (Nasdaq)
Mizuho’s Bradley Bowers kicked off coverage with an Outperform and set a $100 target, pointing to what he calls one of healthcare’s top opportunities: precision-oncology diagnostics. Bowers sized up the addressable market at $40 billion, expanding roughly 30% a year. (Tipranks)
Baird kicked off coverage with an Outperform and a $59 target, calling the company’s therapy-selection franchise “attractive.” The firm pointed to the recent drop in shares as “a buying opportunity” for investors. (Tipranks)
The new algorithm isn’t a commercial game-changer just yet. Tempus has HRD-RNA out for research use only, with clinical rollout still slated for later this year. That leaves a window for possible hiccups—delays, tricky reimbursement, or slower uptake than the bulls might count on.
Tempus is set to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Tuesday, Feb. 24, with the earnings call scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET. Founder and CEO Eric Lefkofsky, along with CFO Jim Rogers, will be leading that call. (Tempus)
