Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ:CAI) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Caris Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $33.00. The stock had previously closed at $16.45, but opened at $19.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. Caris Life Sciences shares last traded at $19.4260, with a volume of 1,559,570 shares trading hands.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CAI. Citigroup dropped their target price on Caris Life Sciences from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Caris Life Sciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caris Life Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeff L. Vacirca acquired 31,050 shares of Caris Life Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.15 per share, with a total value of $501,457.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 49,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,186.65. This trade represents a 166.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon Halbert bought 68,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.56 per share, for a total transaction of $990,080.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 704,598 shares in the company, valued at $10,258,946.88. This represents a 10.68% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 50.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caris Life Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caris Life Sciences by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 99,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 128.3% in the first quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 839.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in Caris Life Sciences by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 11,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter.

Caris Life Sciences Stock Up 13.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 6.52, a current ratio of 5.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of 63.17 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.76.

Caris Life Sciences declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Caris Life Sciences

Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ: CAI) is a molecular science company focused on advancing precision medicine in oncology. The company develops and delivers comprehensive molecular profiling services designed to identify actionable biomarkers across DNA, RNA and protein modalities. Its clinical services are intended to support oncologists in treatment decision-making by matching patients to targeted therapies, immunotherapies and relevant clinical trials based on tumor biology.

Caris provides laboratory-based diagnostic testing and related interpretive reports, combining high-throughput sequencing and other molecular technologies with bioinformatic analysis.