GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BTIG Research raised their price objective on GeneDx from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $155.00 target price on shares of GeneDx and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of GeneDx in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of GeneDx from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GeneDx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.13.

GeneDx Price Performance

NASDAQ:WGS opened at $96.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $133.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.27. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 1,069.56 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a current ratio of 2.71. GeneDx has a one year low of $55.17 and a one year high of $170.87.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.21. GeneDx had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 20.22%. The company had revenue of $116.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.33 million. Equities research analysts expect that GeneDx will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GeneDx

In related news, Director Joshua Ruch sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.37, for a total transaction of $6,094,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,914,978.17. This represents a 76.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total transaction of $1,562,213.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,048,561.93. This trade represents a 43.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 57,617 shares of company stock valued at $8,992,161 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeneDx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in GeneDx by 664.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in GeneDx by 248.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of GeneDx in the third quarter valued at about $65,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of GeneDx by 351.5% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 763 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of GeneDx by 479.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 1,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

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.