GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Stock Price Down 8.9% – Here’s Why

GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS)’s share price dropped 8.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $60.47 and last traded at $59.7290. Approximately 133,282 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 752,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WGS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised GeneDx from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on GeneDx from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target (down from $160.00) on shares of GeneDx in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised GeneDx from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on GeneDx from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.71.

GeneDx Trading Down 6.6%

The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of -81.60 and a beta of 2.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.34.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $120.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.80 million. GeneDx had a positive return on equity of 14.73% and a negative net margin of 4.92%. Sell-side analysts forecast that GeneDx Holdings Corp. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at GeneDx

In other news, CFO Kevin Feeley sold 6,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.61, for a total transaction of $486,360.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,674 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,963.14. This trade represents a 24.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Bryan Dechairo sold 5,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.70, for a total value of $510,857.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,808 shares of company stock worth $8,245,748. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in GeneDx in the third quarter worth about $48,157,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in GeneDx by 340.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 59,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,424,000 after acquiring an additional 46,085 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in GeneDx in the third quarter worth about $5,387,000. Telemark Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in GeneDx in the third quarter worth about $12,929,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in GeneDx by 1,358.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 205,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,779,000 after acquiring an additional 191,780 shares in 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.