GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Shares Up 6.9% – Still a Buy?

GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS) traded up 6.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $41.33 and last traded at $41.5330. 908,738 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 989,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $150.00 price target on shares of GeneDx in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $160.00) on shares of GeneDx in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of GeneDx from $100.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of GeneDx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of GeneDx in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.43.

GeneDx Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -15.34 and a beta of 2.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $64.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $102.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.46 million. GeneDx had a negative net margin of 17.58% and a positive return on equity of 9.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that GeneDx Holdings Corp. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 2,172 shares of GeneDx stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.19, for a total transaction of $141,592.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,216 shares in the company, valued at $6,076,751.04. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Keith A. Meister acquired 500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.29 per share, for a total transaction of $19,645,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,433,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,184,239.13. This trade represents a 12.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,374,668 shares of company stock worth $60,269,369 and have sold 104,028 shares worth $7,377,165. Insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GeneDx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of GeneDx by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of GeneDx by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of GeneDx by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 15,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,037,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of GeneDx by 5.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of GeneDx by 664.3% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.