Tempus AI's Diagnostics Chief Filed Stock Sales Spanning a Volatile Week. Here's What Happened
Key Points
The transactions involved 17,314 shares at a weighted average price of $53.71 per share, totaling $930,000.
The sales were executed directly by Schoenherr and were primarily structured to satisfy tax withholding obligations.
Following these transactions, the insider retains a direct ownership position of 89,715 shares valued at $5.5 million as of the August 19 market close.
Thomas Edward Schoenherr, the CEO of diagnostics at Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:TEM), sold 17,314 shares of Class A Common Stock on August 18 and August 19, according to an SEC Form 4 filing.
Transaction summary
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Transaction value | ~$930,000 |
| Shares sold | 17,314 |
| Post-transaction shares (directly held) | 89,715 |
| Post-transaction value | $5.5 million |
Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($53.71); post-transaction value based on the August 19 market close ($61.25).
Key questions
- What was the primary driver behind this share disposition?
The sales were conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on March 3 and included non-discretionary transactions required to cover statutory tax withholding obligations resulting from the vesting of restricted stock units. - How does this move align with the company's recent financial scale?
The roughly $930,000 transaction occurred within a company that reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $1.4 billion and a net income of -$254.4 million as of the most recent reporting period. - What is the insider's remaining exposure to the company's valuation?
Schoenherr continues to hold 89,715 shares directly, representing a 0.05% ownership stake in the $10.7 billion healthcare technology firm. - What has been the recent performance context for the stock?
The shares were priced at $53.71 for this transaction as the stock has generated a -16% total return over the 12 months ending August 19.
Company Overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Share Price (as of market close 2026-08-19) | $61.25 |
| Market Capitalization | $10.7 billion |
| Revenue (TTM) | $1.4 billion |
| Net Income (TTM) | -$254.4 million |
Company Snapshot
- Tempus AI operates a closed-loop healthcare technology platform that integrates clinician workflows with laboratory diagnostic capabilities, analytics, and multimodal data repositories, generating revenue through its Tempus platform and Hub clinical application for next-generation sequencing (NGS) testing.
- The company operates a software-as-a-service and diagnostic services business model, monetizing through platform subscriptions, clinical application licensing, and laboratory testing services delivered to healthcare providers and medical institutions.
- Tempus AI primarily serves physicians, healthcare providers, and clinical laboratories seeking advanced diagnostic capabilities and data-driven clinical decision support tools for oncology and precision medicine applications.
Tempus AI is a healthcare technology company with a $10.7 billion market capitalization and 3,800 employees headquartered in Chicago. The company has established a vertically integrated platform that combines clinical software, diagnostic analytics, and laboratory services to address the precision medicine market, though it remains unprofitable on a TTM basis, with negative net income of $254.4 million, as it invests in platform expansion and market penetration.
What this transaction means for investors
As noted, this sale was on a 10b5-1 plan Schoenherr adopted back in March, so the mechanics were locked in long before anyone knew Moderna and Merck would report trial results that revalued Tempus's pending Personalis deal by massively boosting the stock's price. The sale straddled both August 18 and August 19, catching some shares before the stock jumped and some after, which is exactly what a pre-set plan looks like when news breaks in the middle of it.
Schoenherr runs diagnostics, the larger of Tempus's two segments, and it had a solid quarter on its own terms. Diagnostics revenue grew 20% year over year to $289.3 million, driven by oncology volume growth of 31%, and MRD testing volume rose to 9,000 cases from 6,500 the prior quarter. That's the business actually generating the reimbursement dollars, as opposed to the Personalis deal getting all the attention this week. CEO Eric Lefkofsky summed up the underlying quarter by simply saying, it "was another exceptional quarter for us." Schoenherr still holds 89,715 shares, and ultimately, a scheduled plan crossing a volatile week isn't a signal in either direction, so long-term investors should stay focused on performance and execution.
Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tempus AI. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.