GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Shares Up 7.9% – Here’s What Happened

GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS) traded up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $88.26 and last traded at $91.9330. 171,317 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 932,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WGS has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of GeneDx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of GeneDx from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.57.

GeneDx Trading Down 0.1%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.29 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.06, a current ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.20. The company had revenue of $114.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.01 million. GeneDx had a negative net margin of 23.41% and a positive return on equity of 4.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that GeneDx Holdings Corp. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at GeneDx

In other news, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.61, for a total transaction of $1,025,002.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,476 shares in the company, valued at $11,271,612.36. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevin Feeley sold 3,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.61, for a total value of $363,890.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,387,081.45. The trade was a 7.66% 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 quarter, insiders sold 19,206 shares of company stock worth $1,808,056. Corporate insiders own 25.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GeneDx

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in GeneDx by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,220,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,738,000 after buying an additional 52,322 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,092,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,154,000 after buying an additional 411,607 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in shares of GeneDx by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,018,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,435,000 after acquiring an additional 474,167 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of GeneDx by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 504,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,635,000 after acquiring an additional 15,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 222.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 783,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,816,000 after acquiring an additional 540,996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

GeneDx Company Profile

GeneDx Holdings Corp., doing business as GeneDx, is a healthcare company focused on genetic testing and genomic diagnostics. The company provides testing designed to help healthcare professionals diagnose rare and inherited conditions, guide clinical management, and support research into genetic disease.

Its offerings include whole exome and whole genome sequencing, targeted genetic tests, chromosomal microarray analysis, and other tests used to identify disease-causing genetic variants.