Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 208,305 Shares of GeneDx Holdings Corp. $WGS

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its GeneDx stake by 219% in the second quarter, buying 208,305 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 303,433 shares worth approximately $20.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with seven Buy ratings, one Hold and one Sell; GeneDx has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.57.
• GeneDx exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.01 in adjusted EPS versus estimates of a $0.19 loss and revenue of $114.44 million versus $111.01 million expected. Insiders have been net buyers over the past 90 days, purchasing more than 1.05 million shares.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS - Free Report) by 219.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 303,433 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 208,305 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 1.02% of GeneDx worth $20,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WGS. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in GeneDx by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in GeneDx by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in GeneDx by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 15,660 shares of the company's stock worth $2,037,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in GeneDx by 5.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,702 shares of the company's stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of GeneDx by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,500 shares of the company's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on WGS shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of GeneDx in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of GeneDx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of GeneDx in a report on Monday, June 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.57.

Insider Activity at GeneDx

In related news, Director Keith A. Meister bought 46,273 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $38.91 per share, for a total transaction of $1,800,482.43. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,784,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $186,167,618.70. This represents a 0.98% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,501 shares of GeneDx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $638,145.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 104,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,342,686.44. The trade was a 9.14% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,051,273 shares of company stock valued at $46,334,582 and have sold 19,135 shares valued at $1,128,499. Company insiders own 25.17% of the company's stock.

GeneDx Price Performance

Shares of GeneDx stock opened at $77.08 on Monday. GeneDx Holdings Corp. has a 1 year low of $32.21 and a 1 year high of $170.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.18 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 3.06.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.20. GeneDx had a positive return on equity of 4.12% and a negative net margin of 23.41%.The company had revenue of $114.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that GeneDx Holdings Corp. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

GeneDx Company Profile

GeneDx is a clinical diagnostics company specializing in comprehensive genetic and genomic testing for rare and inherited disorders. The company offers a broad portfolio of assays, including targeted gene panels, whole exome sequencing, whole genome sequencing and chromosomal microarray analysis. GeneDx's laboratory services support the diagnosis of a wide range of conditions—from rare pediatric diseases and hereditary cancer syndromes to neuromuscular and metabolic disorders—by providing clinicians with detailed variant interpretation and reporting.

Founded in 2000 and based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, GeneDx was established with the aim of accelerating the translation of genomic discoveries into clinical care.

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