GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Stock Price Down 6.5% – Here’s Why

GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS) shares fell 6.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $89.02 and last traded at $91.4590. 240,754 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 927,475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WGS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded GeneDx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Monday, June 29th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of GeneDx in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded GeneDx from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.57.

GeneDx Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 3.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of -24.69 and a beta of 1.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.44.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.20. GeneDx had a positive return on equity of 4.12% and a negative net margin of 23.41%.The company had revenue of $114.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that GeneDx Holdings Corp. will post -0.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevin Feeley sold 3,728 shares of the company’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 $363,890.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $97.61, for a total transaction of $1,025,002.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,476 shares in the company, valued at $11,271,612.36. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 19,206 shares of company stock valued at $1,808,056 over the last three months. Insiders own 25.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GeneDx

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Light Asset Management LLC increased its position in GeneDx by 222.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 783,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,816,000 after purchasing an additional 540,996 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of GeneDx in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of GeneDx during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,066,000. AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of GeneDx during the second quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in GeneDx by 2.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 347,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,885,000 after buying an additional 6,922 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

GeneDx Company Profile

GeneDx Holdings Corp., doing business as GeneDx, is a healthcare company focused on genetic testing and genomic diagnostics. The company provides testing designed to help healthcare professionals diagnose rare and inherited conditions, guide clinical management, and support research into genetic disease.

Its offerings include whole exome and whole genome sequencing, targeted genetic tests, chromosomal microarray analysis, and other tests used to identify disease-causing genetic variants.