GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

WGS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of GeneDx in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised GeneDx from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on GeneDx from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.57.

GeneDx Stock Performance

WGS stock opened at $89.24 on Wednesday. GeneDx has a 1 year low of $32.21 and a 1 year high of $170.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.52 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.06 and a current ratio of 3.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.97.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $114.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.01 million. GeneDx had a negative net margin of 23.41% and a positive return on equity of 4.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that GeneDx will post -0.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other GeneDx news, Director Casdin Capital, Llc acquired 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $56.44 per share, with a total value of $8,466,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,657,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,410,336.16. This trade represents a 4.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $638,145.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 104,372 shares in the company, valued at $6,342,686.44. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,135 shares of company stock worth $1,128,499. Corporate insiders own 25.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeneDx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WGS. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 77.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 234,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,066,000 after buying an additional 102,456 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of GeneDx by 65.9% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 633,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,681,000 after acquiring an additional 251,732 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,220,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,738,000 after acquiring an additional 52,322 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,189,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,650,000 after acquiring an additional 18,647 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GeneDx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,167,000. 61.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GeneDx Company Profile

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.