Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ:CAI) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Caris Life Sciences to “sell” from “hold,” contrasting with the broader analyst consensus of “Moderate Buy” and a $26.33 price target.
• Caris shares opened at $22.74 after rising 13.7%; the company also authorized a $100 million share buyback, equal to up to 2.1% of outstanding shares.
• Insiders recently made sizable purchases, while institutional investors—including BlackRock, UBS, and JPMorgan—expanded their positions; insiders collectively own 50% of the company.

Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ:CAI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

CAI has been the topic of several other research reports. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Caris Life Sciences from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Caris Life Sciences from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Caris Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Caris Life Sciences from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.33.

Caris Life Sciences Stock Up 13.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CAI opened at $22.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.17 and a beta of 0.68. Caris Life Sciences has a one year low of $14.19 and a one year high of $42.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $17.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 5.53 and a quick ratio of 6.52.

Caris Life Sciences announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, June 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caris Life Sciences

In other news, Director Jon Halbert acquired 68,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.56 per share, with a total value of $990,080.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 704,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,258,946.88. The trade was a 10.68% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeff L. Vacirca bought 31,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.15 per share, with a total value of $501,457.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 49,671 shares of the company's stock, valued at $802,186.65. This trade represents a 166.75% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 50.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Caris Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,666,000. PointState Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 73.0% during the fourth quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 6,718,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,271,000 after buying an additional 2,834,986 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 825.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,183,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948,107 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Caris Life Sciences by 23,902.9% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,660,280 shares of the company's stock worth $44,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653,363 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Caris Life Sciences by 185.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,445,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587,176 shares in the last quarter.

Caris Life Sciences Company Profile

Caris Life Sciences NASDAQ: CAI is a molecular science company focused on advancing precision medicine in oncology. The company develops and delivers comprehensive molecular profiling services designed to identify actionable biomarkers across DNA, RNA and protein modalities. Its clinical services are intended to support oncologists in treatment decision-making by matching patients to targeted therapies, immunotherapies and relevant clinical trials based on tumor biology.

Caris provides laboratory-based diagnostic testing and related interpretive reports, combining high-throughput sequencing and other molecular technologies with bioinformatic analysis.

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