CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded CareDx (CDNA) from a "hold" to a "buy," but analyst coverage remains mixed (2 Buy, 5 Hold, 1 Sell) with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.60.
• CareDx's latest quarter missed EPS ($0.12 vs. $0.24 expected) but beat revenue estimates ($108.39M vs. $102.76M), with revenue up 25.2% year-over-year despite negative net margin and ROE.
• CEO John Walter Hanna Jr. sold 10,282 shares at an average of $21.12 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; the stock was up ~5.8%, trading near $21.23 with a market cap of about $1.09B and a 52-week range of $10.96–$23.24.

CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded CareDx from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Craig Hallum downgraded CareDx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on CareDx from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on CareDx from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CareDx presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.60.

CareDx Stock Up 5.8%

CDNA opened at $21.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.08. CareDx has a 52 week low of $10.96 and a 52 week high of $23.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of -53.08 and a beta of 2.54.

CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $108.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $102.76 million. CareDx had a negative return on equity of 6.50% and a negative net margin of 5.65%.The firm's revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CareDx will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Walter Hanna, Jr. sold 10,282 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total transaction of $217,155.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 676,475 shares in the company, valued at $14,287,152. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CareDx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDNA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in CareDx by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 39,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in CareDx by 4.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in CareDx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in CareDx by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in CareDx in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000.

CareDx Company Profile

CareDx, Inc NASDAQ: CDNA is a precision diagnostics company focused on the care of transplant patients. The firm develops and commercializes non‐invasive tests designed to detect organ transplant rejection and infection risk, helping physicians make informed management decisions throughout the post‐transplant journey.

The company's core product portfolio includes AlloMap®, a gene expression profiling test for heart transplant recipients, and AlloSure®, a donor‐derived cell‐free DNA assay used primarily in kidney transplant monitoring.

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