Healthcare tech company shares surge 27% after announcing plans to buy bitcoin with cash reserves

Medical device maker and healthcare technology company Semler Scientific announced Tuesday it plans to buy bitcoin with its cash reserves and, almost immediately, the company’s shares rose by as much as 27%. Semler Scientific’s board of directors had “adopted bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset” and “purchased 581 bitcoins for an aggregate amount of $40 million, inclusive of fees and expenses,” the company said. After closing at $23.32 per share on Friday (U.S. markets were closed Monday), Semler Scientific’s stock shot up 27% on Tuesday, at one point changing hands at $29.50 a share, according to Yahoo Finance. That would put the market capitalization of all of Semler Scietific’s shares was worth a little more than $200 million at the time of publication. “Our bitcoin treasury strategy and purchase of bitcoin underscore our belief that bitcoin is a reliable store of value and a compelling investment,” Semler Scientific Chairman Eric Semler said in the company’s statement. “[Bitcoin] has unique characteristics as a scarce and finite asset that can serve as a reasonable inflation hedge and safe haven amid global instability.” The company said it continues to generate revenues and accumulate cash reserves, and bitcoin will serve as Semler Scientific’s “principal treasury holding on an ongoing basis.” Famously, the business intelligence firm Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy began buying with its excess cash in 2020 as a hedge against inflation. Semler Scientific’s shares traded around $29.21 at publication time, up 25.2.% on the day.