Caris Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Caris Life Sciences a consensus “Hold” rating: Seven analysts recommend buying, five recommend holding and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $26.50, below the reported share price of $31.47.
• Caris authorized a $100 million share-buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 2.1% of outstanding shares—an indication that management may view the stock as undervalued.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently, with executives selling 997,212 shares worth approximately $27 million over the past three months, while several major hedge funds—including BlackRock and PointState Capital—built new positions.

Caris Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAI - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.50.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAI. Wolfe Research lowered Caris Life Sciences from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Caris Life Sciences from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Caris Life Sciences from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock.

Caris Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of CAI stock opened at $31.47 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $22.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.49. The company has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of 87.42 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 5.53, a quick ratio of 4.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Caris Life Sciences has a 12-month low of $14.19 and a 12-month high of $33.65.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Brille sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.33, for a total transaction of $12,132,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 230,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,985,089.99. This represents a 63.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President David Spetzler sold 119,212 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.76, for a total value of $2,951,689.12. Following the transaction, the president owned 1,182,871 shares in the company, valued at $29,287,885.96. This trade represents a 9.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 997,212 shares of company stock worth $26,966,769 over the last three months. 50.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caris Life Sciences

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Braidwell LP increased its position in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 3.1% during the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 8,256,032 shares of the company's stock worth $147,122,000 after purchasing an additional 246,585 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP purchased a new position in Caris Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $121,690,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Caris Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth $98,666,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,416,207 shares of the company's stock worth $38,209,000 after buying an additional 34,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Caris Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $24,502,000.

About Caris Life Sciences

Caris Life Sciences is a precision medicine and biotechnology company headquartered in Irving, Texas. Founded in 2008, the company combines molecular profiling, artificial intelligence and clinical data to support more informed decisions in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Caris provides comprehensive tumor profiling and other laboratory testing services designed to identify genetic, molecular and immune characteristics of a patient's cancer. Its offerings are intended to help physicians match patients with targeted therapies, immunotherapies and clinical trials, while also supporting cancer research and drug development.

The company serves healthcare providers, biopharmaceutical companies and academic or research institutions.

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