Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ:CAI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Caris Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $16.45, but opened at $19.00. Caris Life Sciences shares last traded at $19.4260, with a volume of 1,559,570 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Caris Life Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Caris Life Sciences from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Caris Life Sciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caris Life Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.22.

Caris Life Sciences Stock Up 15.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 7.05 and a quick ratio of 6.52. The stock has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.49 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.78.

Caris Life Sciences announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeff L. Vacirca acquired 31,050 shares of Caris Life Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.15 per share, with a total value of $501,457.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 49,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,186.65. The trade was a 166.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Halbert acquired 68,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.56 per share, with a total value of $990,080.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 704,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,258,946.88. This trade represents a 10.68% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 50.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caris Life Sciences

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAI. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Caris Life Sciences by 99,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 839.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 84.0% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in shares of Caris Life Sciences during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 128.3% during the 1st quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter.

About Caris Life Sciences

Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ: CAI) is a molecular science company focused on advancing precision medicine in oncology. The company develops and delivers comprehensive molecular profiling services designed to identify actionable biomarkers across DNA, RNA and protein modalities. Its clinical services are intended to support oncologists in treatment decision-making by matching patients to targeted therapies, immunotherapies and relevant clinical trials based on tumor biology.

Caris provides laboratory-based diagnostic testing and related interpretive reports, combining high-throughput sequencing and other molecular technologies with bioinformatic analysis.