Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) Stock Bumped Down to "Hold" by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Castle Biosciences to “Hold” from “Buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $42.00 price target.
• Castle reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting an adjusted loss of $0.07 per share versus the $0.41 expected loss and revenue of $99.86 million compared with estimates of $86.23 million.
• Shares opened at $33.08, while insiders sold 221,442 shares worth approximately $7.1 million over the past 90 days; institutional investors own 92.6% of the company.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Castle Biosciences from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $36.00 price target on shares of Castle Biosciences in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Castle Biosciences from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Castle Biosciences Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of CSTL stock opened at $33.08 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $33.76 and its 200-day moving average is $27.15. The company has a current ratio of 6.04, a quick ratio of 5.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Castle Biosciences has a 1 year low of $17.72 and a 1 year high of $44.28.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Castle Biosciences news, COO Kristen Oelschlager sold 4,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total value of $149,300.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 13,356 shares in the company, valued at $480,148.20. This trade represents a 23.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Derek J. Maetzold sold 8,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $273,787.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,484 shares in the company, valued at $398,364.44. The trade was a 40.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 221,442 shares of company stock worth $7,105,266 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Castle Biosciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NFSG Corp bought a new position in shares of Castle Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Green Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Castle Biosciences by 39.1% during the third quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 13,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Castle Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $529,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Castle Biosciences by 61.5% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 29,480 shares of the company's stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 11,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Castle Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,395,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company's stock.

About Castle Biosciences

Castle Biosciences, Inc is a molecular diagnostics company that develops and commercializes tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. The company focuses on conditions in which additional biological information can complement traditional pathology and clinical assessment.

Its portfolio includes DecisionDx-Melanoma, which helps evaluate the risk of metastatic recurrence in patients with cutaneous melanoma; DecisionDx-SCC, which assesses metastatic risk in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma; and DecisionDx-UM, a test for determining metastatic risk in uveal melanoma.

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