Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) Shares Down 6.1% After Insider Selling

Castle Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTL) shares dropped 6.1% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $34.48 and last traded at $34.4220. 69,597 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 395,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.65.

Specifically, COO Kristen Oelschlager sold 4,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total transaction of $149,300.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $480,148.20. This trade represents a 23.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Tobin Juvenal sold 1,034 shares of Castle Biosciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.20, for a total transaction of $35,362.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 52,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,778,639.40. This represents a 1.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In related news, insider Tobin Juvenal sold 5,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.50, for a total transaction of $196,776.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 53,041 shares in the company, valued at $1,882,955.50. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $36.00 price target on shares of Castle Biosciences in a report on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Castle Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research raised their target price on Castle Biosciences from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Castle Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Castle Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Castle Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Castle Biosciences Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 5.85 and a current ratio of 6.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.46.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by $0.34. Castle Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 4.15% and a negative net margin of 5.43%.The firm had revenue of $99.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.23 million. Equities research analysts expect that Castle Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Castle Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Castle Biosciences during the second quarter valued at about $5,681,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Castle Biosciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $78,513,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Castle Biosciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,338,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Castle Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,395,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Castle Biosciences by 387.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 45,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 36,144 shares in the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Castle Biosciences

Castle Biosciences, Inc is a molecular diagnostics company that develops and commercializes tests designed to provide personalized information for patients with cancer and other serious diseases. Its products analyze biological characteristics in tissue samples to help physicians assess disease risk, guide treatment decisions and support patient management.

The company’s portfolio includes diagnostic tests for skin cancers, such as DecisionDx-Melanoma for assessing metastatic risk in patients with cutaneous melanoma and DecisionDx-SCC for evaluating metastatic risk in certain cases of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.