GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Trading Up 10.7% – Time to Buy?

GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS) shares were up 10.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.10 and last traded at $38.4350. Approximately 2,643,775 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 182% from the average daily volume of 936,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WGS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of GeneDx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of GeneDx from $170.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of GeneDx and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GeneDx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.43.

GeneDx Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.21 and a beta of 2.06.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $102.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.46 million. GeneDx had a positive return on equity of 9.15% and a negative net margin of 17.58%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that GeneDx Holdings Corp. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GeneDx news, CFO Kevin Feeley sold 392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.19, for a total value of $25,554.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,277,868.98. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 2,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.19, for a total transaction of $141,592.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,076,751.04. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 104,028 shares of company stock valued at $7,377,165. Corporate insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeneDx

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WGS. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in GeneDx by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,611,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in GeneDx by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in GeneDx by 270,700.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in GeneDx by 67.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 28,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 11,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in GeneDx in the second quarter valued at about $249,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GeneDx Company Profile

GeneDx is a clinical diagnostics company specializing in comprehensive genetic and genomic testing for rare and inherited disorders. The company offers a broad portfolio of assays, including targeted gene panels, whole exome sequencing, whole genome sequencing and chromosomal microarray analysis. GeneDx’s laboratory services support the diagnosis of a wide range of conditions—from rare pediatric diseases and hereditary cancer syndromes to neuromuscular and metabolic disorders—by providing clinicians with detailed variant interpretation and reporting.

Founded in 2000 and based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, GeneDx was established with the aim of accelerating the translation of genomic discoveries into clinical care.