Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Castle Biosciences (CSTL) from "hold" to strong-buy, and several other firms (Morgan Stanley, Guggenheim, Lake Street) have recently issued buy/outperform ratings; MarketBeat shows an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $46.14 average price target.
• Shares opened at $24.67 (12‑month range $14.59–$44.28) with a market cap of $747.5M; the company reported an EPS beat of -$0.08 vs. -$0.23 and revenue of $81.88M but still posts a negative P/E (-29.02).
• Insiders sold 78,592 shares (~$2.1M) over the past three months, reducing holdings, while institutional investors collectively own about 92.6% of the company.

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

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CSTL. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Castle Biosciences to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Castle Biosciences from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Castle Biosciences in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Castle Biosciences from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their target price on shares of Castle Biosciences from $35.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Castle Biosciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.14.

Castle Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of CSTL opened at $24.67 on Monday. Castle Biosciences has a 12 month low of $14.59 and a 12 month high of $44.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $747.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.02 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 5.26, a quick ratio of 5.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.15. Castle Biosciences had a negative net margin of 7.02% and a negative return on equity of 0.89%. The business had revenue of $81.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.19 million. Research analysts forecast that Castle Biosciences will post -1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tobin W. Juvenal sold 20,863 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.24, for a total value of $526,582.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,191,463. This trade represents a 19.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Derek J. Maetzold sold 18,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.93, for a total transaction of $483,594.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $573,804.97. This represents a 45.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 78,592 shares of company stock valued at $2,107,094 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Castle Biosciences

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Castle Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Castle Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Castle Biosciences by 139,100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Castle Biosciences by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Castle Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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