8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 _______________________________ 

FORM 8-K

__________________________

 CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 10, 2021

_______________________________ 

NanoString Technologies, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

  ________________________________

Delaware	001-35980	20-0094687
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

530 Fairview Avenue North

Seattle, Washington 98109

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(206) 378-6266

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

  ____________________________

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share	NSTG	The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
		(The NASDAQ Global Market)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging Growth Company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act).   ¨

Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

    In connection with its participation in the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, NanoString Technologies, Inc. announced on January 10, 2021 certain preliminary results at and for the year ended December 31, 2020. A copy of the press release is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

    The Company announces material information to the public through a variety of means, including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, public conference calls, the Company’s website (www.nanostring.com), its investor relations website (investors.nanostring.com), and its news site (investors.nanostring.com/press-releases). The Company uses these channels, as well as social media, including its Twitter account (@nanostringtech), LinkedIn account (www.linkedin.com/company/nanostring-technologies), and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/NanoStringTechnologies), to communicate with investors and the public about the Company, its products, and other matters. Therefore, the Company encourages investors, the media, and others interested in the Company to review the information it makes public in these locations, as such information could be deemed to be material information.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press release dated January 10, 2021.
101	Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

    The information furnished in this Current Report on Form 8-K and Exhibit 99.1 attached hereto shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

SIGNATURES

    Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

			NanoString Technologies, Inc.
Date:	January 11, 2021	By:	/s/ R. Bradley Gray
			R. Bradley Gray
			President and Chief Executive Officer

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

NanoString Provides Preliminary Financial and Operational Highlights for Fourth Quarter and FY 2020

- Q4 Product and Service Revenue of $35.7 Million, Including GeoMx Revenue of $12.2 million, Exceeding High End of Guidance Ranges -

- Over 180 Cumulative GeoMx Orders as of Year End -

SEATTLE - January 10, 2021 - NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research, today reported preliminary financial and operational highlights for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

“2020 was a transformative year for NanoString, with researchers embracing spatial biology as a key modality, and NanoString as the leader in the field with over 180 GeoMx instruments ordered by customers to date. We had a strong finish to the year with revenue exceeding expectations in every category, including a sequential doubling in demand for GeoMx DSP consumables,” said Brad Gray, President and CEO of NanoString. “With the expected 2021 launches of our Whole Transcriptome Atlas for GeoMx and a Technology Access Program for our new Spatial Molecular Imager, we believe we have a compelling portfolio of spatial biology solutions to offer researchers in this growing total addressable market.”

Operational Highlights

Spatial Biology

•Updated spatial biology strategic roadmap and long-term product vision at 2020 Investor and Analyst Day

•Unveiled the Spatial Molecular Imager, a new spatial biology platform capable of measuring expression of 1,000+ genes at single-cell and sub-cellular resolution

•Updated spatial biology total addressable market estimates, to approximately $12 billion across all product segments

•Announced that spatially resolved transcriptomics had been selected by leading scientific journal Nature Methods as their 2020 “Method of the Year”

GeoMx DSP

•Secured cumulative GeoMx orders exceeding 180 since the commencement of commercial launch including more than 25 new orders in Q4

•Installed approximately 30 GeoMx systems in Q4, increasing the GeoMx installed base to approximately 130 systems as of December 31, 2020

•Generated $2.8 million in GeoMx consumables revenue in Q4, a 100% sequential increase as compared to the third quarter of 2020

•Secured a record of 87 new GeoMx TAP project orders in Q4, of which 37 will use our Whole Transcriptome Atlas with Next Generation Sequencing readout

nCounter

•Concluded 2020 with an nCounter installed base of approximately 950 systems, an increase of approximately 13% over fiscal year 2019

•Recorded significant milestone of continued research momentum for nCounter platform, with total scientific publications now exceeding 4,000

Financial Highlights

For the fourth quarter of 2020, product and service revenue is expected to be $35.7 million, exceeding the upper end of the company’s guidance range of $31 to $34 million. Expected fourth quarter product and service revenue includes nCounter revenue of $23.5 million, exceeding the upper end of the Company’s nCounter revenue guidance of $21 to $23 million, and GeoMx revenue of $12.2 million, exceeding the upper end of the Company’s GeoMx revenue guidance of $10 to $11 million.

Product and service revenue for the full year 2020 is expected to be $111.4 million, including $76.5 million of nCounter revenue and $34.9 million of GeoMx revenue.

Cash and short-term investments totaled approximately $440 million as of December 31, 2020.

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies is a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research. The company’s nCounter® Analysis System is used in life sciences research and has been cited in more than 4,000 peer-reviewed publications. The nCounter Analysis System offers a cost-effective way to easily profile the expression of hundreds of genes, proteins, miRNAs, or copy number variations, simultaneously with high sensitivity and precision, facilitating a wide variety of basic research and translational medicine applications, including biomarker discovery and validation. The company’s GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler enables highly-multiplexed spatial profiling of RNA and protein targets in a variety of sample types, including FFPE tissue sections.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our preliminary estimates of fourth quarter and fiscal year 2020 operating results and financial condition, expectations for demand for our products and growth in our business, the expected launch of our Whole Transcriptome Atlas for GeoMx and a Technology Access Program for our Spatial Molecular Imager technology, the impact of new products and expansion into new markets and the growth trajectory of our nCounter and GeoMx franchises. Such statements are based on current assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, include the risk that our actual financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2020 differ from the estimates presented in this news release; market acceptance of our products; delays or denials of regulatory approvals or clearances for products or applications; the extent and duration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse conditions in the general domestic and global economic markets; the impact of competition; the impact of expanded sales, marketing, product development and clinical activities on operating expenses; delays or other unforeseen problems with respect to manufacturing and product development; as well as the other risks set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. NanoString Technologies disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

The NanoString logo, NanoString, NanoString Technologies, GeoMx, and nCounter are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoString Technologies, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries.

Contact

Doug Farrell

Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

dfarrell@nanostring.com

Phone: 206-602-1768

XML

Cover Page Document		6 Months Ended
	Jan. 10, 2021	Jun. 30, 2020
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Jan. 10, 2021
Entity Registrant Name	NanoString Technologies, Inc.
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity File Number	001-35980
Entity Tax Identification Number	20-0094687
Entity Address, Address Line One	530 Fairview Avenue North
Entity Address, City or Town	Seattle
Entity Address, State or Province	WA
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	98109
City Area Code	206
Local Phone Number	378-6266
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share
Trading Symbol	NSTG
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Amendment Flag		false
Entity Central Index Key		0001401708