Castle Biosciences, Inc. $CSTL Shares Sold by Wasatch Advisors LP

Key Points

• Wasatch Advisors LP cut its Castle Biosciences stake by 15.3% in the first quarter, selling 82,205 shares and leaving it with 455,036 shares valued at about $11.17 million.
• Insider selling has also been active, with executives Derek J. Maetzold and Kristen M. Oelschlager selling shares in recent transactions; insiders have sold 40,775 shares worth about $916,887 over the past 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Castle Biosciences carrying a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $42.43, even as the stock traded up 6.1% to $24.30 and the company reported revenue above expectations in its latest quarter.

Wasatch Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Castle Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTL - Free Report) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 455,036 shares of the company's stock after selling 82,205 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 1.50% of Castle Biosciences worth $11,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CSTL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Castle Biosciences by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,199,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,573,000 after acquiring an additional 27,511 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP acquired a new position in Castle Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,283,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Castle Biosciences by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,807,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,317,000 after purchasing an additional 13,289 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Castle Biosciences by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,499,000 after purchasing an additional 25,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Castle Biosciences by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,474,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,564,000 after purchasing an additional 96,084 shares in the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Derek J. Maetzold sold 6,214 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.15, for a total value of $137,640.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,759.85. This trade represents a 22.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Kristen M. Oelschlager sold 8,587 shares of Castle Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.71, for a total transaction of $177,836.77. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 30,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $630,826.60. This trade represents a 21.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 40,775 shares of company stock worth $916,887 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp set a $35.00 price target on shares of Castle Biosciences in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Castle Biosciences from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Castle Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Castle Biosciences from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Castle Biosciences to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Castle Biosciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.43.

Castle Biosciences Trading Up 6.1%

Shares of CSTL opened at $24.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 6.75, a quick ratio of 6.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $737.02 million, a P/E ratio of -55.23 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $21.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.12. Castle Biosciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.59 and a twelve month high of $44.28.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49). The firm 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, equities research analysts forecast that Castle Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Castle Biosciences Company Profile

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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