Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in GeneDx Holdings Corp. $WGS

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS) by 340.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,624 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,085 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of GeneDx worth $6,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in GeneDx by 6.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 61.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of GeneDx by 5.7% in the second quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 17,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after buying an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in GeneDx by 0.8% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 117,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,681,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WGS. Wells Fargo & Company raised GeneDx from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of GeneDx from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of GeneDx from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of GeneDx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.13.

GeneDx Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WGS opened at $90.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,001.67 and a beta of 2.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.18. GeneDx Holdings Corp. has a twelve month low of $55.17 and a twelve month high of $170.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GeneDx news, Director Joshua Ruch sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.37, for a total transaction of $6,094,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,914,978.17. This trade represents a 76.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total value of $1,562,213.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,237 shares in the company, valued at $2,048,561.93. This represents a 43.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,961 shares of company stock valued at $10,027,891. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.