Keith Meister Purchases 140,026 Shares of GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Stock

GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS) Director Keith Meister acquired 140,026 shares of GeneDx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $81.19 per share, with a total value of $11,368,710.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,228,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,093,498.50. This represents a 4.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

GeneDx Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WGS traded up $2.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.00. The company had a trading volume of 921,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,205. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.33 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.46. GeneDx Holdings Corp. has a 1-year low of $55.17 and a 1-year high of $170.87.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WGS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of GeneDx from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered GeneDx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of GeneDx in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down from $160.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of GeneDx from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.71.

Institutional Trading of GeneDx

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WGS. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in GeneDx by 42.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 27,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 340.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 59,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,424,000 after purchasing an additional 46,085 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of GeneDx during the 3rd quarter worth $5,387,000. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GeneDx during the 3rd quarter worth $48,157,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of GeneDx by 55.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 22,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,056,000 after purchasing an additional 7,987 shares in the last quarter. 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.