Dec. 18, 2025

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Altai Capital plans to nominate two candidates to OraSure’s board of directors, the Bethlehem-based company said Wednesday.

OraSure, a maker of medical diagnostic kits and other medical equipment, said it has already decided against placing Altai Capital founder Rishi Bajaj on its board. Altai is a California-based investment firm “focused on both credit and equity opportunities,” according to its website.

Altai has shown interest in OraSure, and Reuters reported that a healthcare entrepreneur was interested in bidding $3.50 to $4 per share for the company.

One thing OraSure has going for it is cash. It had $216 million in cash as of Sept. 30, making it the odd company with a cash balance exceeding its market capitalization ($180 million). That can be interpreted to mean that the value of the OraSure business is negative $36 million.

NEGATIVE $36 million. That’s not pretty.

The closing price of OraSure shares (NASDAQ:OSUR) on Wednesday was $2.46, down from a 52-week high of $4.22 and well below its pandemic-era peak when it traded in the teens. That was when federal money was flowing into the company. For years now, the stock has been a dog.

OraSure’s statement Wednesday included the usual jargon:

— “Innovation roadmap.”

— “decentralize diagnostics.”

— “significant refreshment” of its board.

— “right sizing our cost structure”

There is some good news for Bethlehem, as the company mentions bringing more work to its local operations in the Lehigh Valley. OraSure’s Bethlehem Township plant is operating well below capacity, so there’s room.

They don’t say it that way, of course. Instead, it’s “Consolidating operations into our Pennsylvania footprint,” but it still could be good news.

— Disclosure: I do not recommend day trading but sometimes I indulge in a small way. I bought 1,000 shares of OraSure at $2.42 on Wednesday and sold them for $2.46, making $40, enough money for a pizza and a bottle of wine. Well spent, I note.

Full-time day traders have also taken to Orasure and discuss it on chat boards. Again, I don’t think day trading is a good idea. Do as I say, not as I do.

Here is a link to the OraSure statement and below is a cut-and-paste version:

OraSure Technologies Issues Statement Regarding Altai Capital’s Intent to Nominate Director Candidates

December 17, 2025 at 1:24 PM EST

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No Shareholder Action Required at This Time

BETHLEHEM, Pa., Dec. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OraSure Technologies, Inc. (“OraSure” and “OTI”) (NASDAQ: OSUR), a leader in point-of-need and home diagnostic tests and sample management solutions, today confirmed that Altai Capital (“Altai”) has notified the Company of its intent to nominate two candidates, including the fund’s founder, Rishi Bajaj, to stand for election to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) at its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

The Company issued the following statement:

The OraSure Board and management team are committed to moving the Company forward with a clear focus on shareholder value creation. We maintain open and constructive dialogue with our shareholders, and members of OraSure’s Board have engaged extensively with Altai Capital in recent months, including evaluating Mr. Bajaj for potential service on the Board. Our Board ultimately determined not to appoint Mr. Bajaj to serve as a director at OraSure. Since that time, our Board has offered to make certain of our directors available to engage further, and Altai has not accepted our invitations.

OraSure maintains a strong, independent, and engaged Board. We continually assess our Board composition, and as a result our Board has undergone significant refreshment, bringing in industry perspectives and executive-level experience to provide oversight as management drives growth and value creation. Over the past three years, seven directors have departed the Board, and we have added three new, highly qualified independent directors, including the addition of accomplished healthcare investor Steven K. Boyd in October 2025. The Board also appointed John P. Kenny, who has served as a director since September 2024, as its Chair in October 2025.

OraSure is executing on a strategy to decentralize diagnostics by connecting people to healthcare wherever they are, and we are taking decisive steps to improve our performance, including:

• • Advancing our innovation roadmap to strengthen our portfolio and focus on high-growth opportunities across diagnostics and sample management solutions with a clear path to commercialization and revenue realization. Near-term milestones include anticipated FDA submissions for our Sherlock rapid molecular self-test for CT/NG¹ and Colli-Pee at-home urine collection device, as well as the launch of HEMAcollect PROTEIN blood collection tube for research use. 
    
  • Consolidating operations into our Pennsylvania footprint, insourcing manufacturing, and exiting unprofitable business lines to improve margins. 
    
  • Maintaining a healthy cash position with $216 million of cash on the balance sheet as of September 30, 2025, with no debt, and right sizing our cost structure to achieve sustainable profitability.
    

Reflecting our confidence in OraSure and its earnings potential as well as our ability to deliver value for all shareholders, earlier this year our Board began executing on a new $40 million share repurchase program. In addition, our Chief Executive Officer, Carrie Eglinton Manner, and Chief Financial Officer, Kenneth McGrath, adopted separate Rule 10b5-1 trading plans for purchases of the Company’s common stock.

We will continue to take actions that we believe are in the best interests of shareholders.

Upon receipt of any formal director nominations from Altai, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and OraSure’s Board will review them and present the Board’s recommendations to shareholders in due course. OraSure shareholders are not required to take any action at this time.