What happened Invitae's (NYSE: NVTA) shares soared 20.5% on Wednesday as bargain-hunters and short covering converged to send the iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (NYSEMKT: IWM) index 1.9% higher today. So what Global stock markets have tumbled on fear that social distancing and sheltering in place is causing a significant slowdown in economic activity. The iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF has lost almost 40% of its value in 2020, and Invitae, which is a member of that index, was down roughly 25% year-to-date through Tuesday's close. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. On Wednesday, investor optimism that U.S. federal government stimulus package will ease the rate of decline in gross domestic product sparked a rally, forcing short sellers to cover bets on falling prices and prompting investors to reconsider the outlook for growth stocks like Invitae, a healthcare company that provides neonatal and cancer genetic screening to parents and patients. As of March 13, over 22 million shares, or 25.7% of Invitae's shares available for trading were held short, despite the fact that the company generated revenue of $216.8 million in 2019, up 47% from 2018. Now what Invitae's goal is to reduce its cost per test to levels that allow it to provide genetic screening to everybody. In 2019, it cost the company just $245 per sample on average to perform a test, down 7% year over year. For perspective, it performed just 150,000 tests at an average cost of $335 per test in 2017. In 2020, the company's guidance is to perform over 725,000 tests, generating over $330 million in sales. If it can deliver on its revenue outlook, it would represent top-line growth of more than 50%. The outlook is encouraging, but investors should realize management is reinvesting heavily back into its business to gain widespread use of its tests. As a result, its operating costs were $461 million last year, resulting in a net loss of $242 million. 10 stocks we like better than InvitaeWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Invitae wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 18, 2020 Todd Campbell owns shares of Invitae and iShares Russell 2000 Index. His clients may have positions in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Invitae. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source