Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) Downgraded by Zacks Research to "Hold"

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Castle Biosciences from “strong-buy” to “hold,” adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that still shows an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $45.33.
• The company reported its latest quarterly results with EPS of -$0.49, matching estimates, while revenue of $84.23 million came in above expectations.
• Castle Biosciences shares were trading at $21.26, well below their 52-week high of $44.28, while insiders have also been selling stock in recent months.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Castle Biosciences from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research cut their target price on Castle Biosciences from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Castle Biosciences from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Castle Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Castle Biosciences from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Castle Biosciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.33.

Castle Biosciences Price Performance

Castle Biosciences stock opened at $21.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 6.75 and a quick ratio of 6.53. The company has a market capitalization of $644.82 million, a PE ratio of -48.32 and a beta of 1.11. Castle Biosciences has a one year low of $14.59 and a one year high of $44.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.51.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.49). The business had revenue of $84.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.23 million. Castle Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 2.77% and a negative net margin of 3.78%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Castle Biosciences will post -1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Castle Biosciences news, Director G Bradley Cole sold 7,403 shares of Castle Biosciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.47, for a total value of $210,763.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,727.23. The trade was a 27.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Frank Stokes sold 7,000 shares of Castle Biosciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total value of $192,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,440,133.52. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 88,583 shares of company stock worth $2,250,288. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Castle Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Castle Biosciences by 8.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 132,184 shares of the company's stock worth $3,245,000 after acquiring an additional 10,264 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Castle Biosciences by 46.6% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,438 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 3,951 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Castle Biosciences by 387.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 45,476 shares of the company's stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 36,144 shares during the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. raised its position in shares of Castle Biosciences by 285.0% during the first quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 67,033 shares of the company's stock worth $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 49,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Castle Biosciences by 8.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 532,800 shares of the company's stock worth $13,080,000 after acquiring an additional 39,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.60% of the company's stock.

About Castle Biosciences

Castle Biosciences, Inc is a molecular diagnostics company specializing in the development and commercialization of prognostic and diagnostic tests for patients with dermatologic conditions. The company's proprietary portfolio of genomic assays is designed to improve risk assessment and guide clinical decision-making for individuals with skin cancers and other skin-related diseases. By combining genomic data with advanced statistical algorithms, Castle Biosciences seeks to provide actionable insights that help physicians tailor treatment plans and monitoring strategies.

The company's flagship test, DecisionDx-Melanoma, evaluates the probability of metastasis in patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma, supporting more personalized surveillance and therapeutic approaches.

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