GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Stock Falls 7.7% – What’s Next?

Shares of GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS) dropped 7.7% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $61.41 and last traded at $61.9980. Approximately 480,879 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 915,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WGS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on GeneDx from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of GeneDx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of GeneDx from $74.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of GeneDx from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.86.

GeneDx Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of -16.68 and a beta of 1.95. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.20. The company had revenue of $114.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.01 million. GeneDx had a positive return on equity of 4.12% and a negative net margin of 23.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that GeneDx Holdings Corp. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GeneDx

In other GeneDx news, CFO Kevin Feeley sold 3,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.61, for a total value of $363,890.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,387,081.45. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.61, for a total value of $1,025,002.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,271,612.36. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 19,206 shares of company stock valued at $1,808,056 over the last 90 days. 25.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeneDx

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WGS. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in GeneDx by 851.4% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 666 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in GeneDx by 108.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 632,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,723,000 after acquiring an additional 328,980 shares during the period. First Light Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 540,996 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of GeneDx in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of GeneDx during the second quarter valued at $3,066,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GeneDx Company Profile

GeneDx Holdings Corp., doing business as GeneDx, is a genomic diagnostics company that provides genetic testing and interpretation services for patients with suspected rare and inherited conditions. The company combines sequencing technologies with clinical expertise and data analysis to help healthcare professionals identify genetic causes of disease and support diagnosis, treatment planning and patient management.

GeneDx’s offerings include whole exome and whole genome sequencing, as well as targeted testing for specific genetic disorders and hereditary cancer conditions.