GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price (down from $160.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of GeneDx from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of GeneDx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $150.00 target price on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of GeneDx in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.71.

GeneDx Trading Down 2.1%

NASDAQ WGS opened at $79.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -106.28 and a beta of 2.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $106.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. GeneDx has a 12 month low of $55.17 and a 12 month high of $170.87.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. GeneDx had a negative net margin of 4.92% and a positive return on equity of 14.73%. The firm had revenue of $120.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.80 million. On average, analysts expect that GeneDx will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total value of $1,562,213.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,237 shares in the company, valued at $2,048,561.93. The trade was a 43.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Feeley sold 3,855 shares of GeneDx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.87, for a total value of $554,618.85. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,731 shares in the company, valued at $1,256,128.97. This trade represents a 30.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 30,961 shares of company stock valued at $3,933,831 in the last 90 days. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of GeneDx

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WGS. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of GeneDx by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 786,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,288,000 after buying an additional 292,394 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in GeneDx in the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. Regal Partners Ltd increased its holdings in GeneDx by 180.0% in the 4th quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in GeneDx in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new stake in GeneDx during the fourth quarter valued at about $983,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About GeneDx

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.