GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

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

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised GeneDx from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded GeneDx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.57.

GeneDx Stock Performance

Shares of WGS stock opened at $77.08 on Friday. GeneDx has a 1-year low of $32.21 and a 1-year high of $170.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.18 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 3.06.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $114.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that GeneDx will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $638,145.77. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 104,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,342,686.44. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Keith A. Meister acquired 46,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $38.91 per share, for a total transaction of $1,800,482.43. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,784,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,167,618.70. This trade represents a 0.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 1,051,273 shares of company stock valued at $46,334,582 and have sold 19,135 shares valued at $1,128,499. 25.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeneDx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of GeneDx by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 381,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,647,000 after purchasing an additional 89,470 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in GeneDx by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,220,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,738,000 after buying an additional 52,322 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in GeneDx by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,189,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,650,000 after buying an additional 18,647 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of GeneDx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,167,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,092,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,154,000 after acquiring an additional 411,607 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.