Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 104,038 Shares of Castle Biosciences, Inc. $CSTL

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors reduced its Castle Biosciences stake by 9.1%, selling 104,038 shares and retaining 1.04 million shares worth approximately $25.5 million. Institutional investors still own 92.6% of the company.
• Castle Biosciences exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $99.86 million in revenue versus the $86.23 million consensus and a $0.07 per-share loss versus an expected $0.41 loss. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $42.
• Shares opened at $30.40, while recent insider sales totaled approximately $2.7 million over three months; the reported transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in Castle Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTL - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,039,761 shares of the company's stock after selling 104,038 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.43% of Castle Biosciences worth $25,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Castle Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Castle Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Castle Biosciences by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,418 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Castle Biosciences by 140.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Castle Biosciences by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. 92.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Castle Biosciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Castle Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG raised its price target to $44 from $40 and maintained a “buy” rating. The revised target indicates substantial potential upside and reflects confidence in Castle Biosciences’ diagnostic-testing growth outlook. BTIG raises Castle Biosciences price target
• Positive Sentiment: Castle Biosciences’ latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue of $99.86 million versus the $86.23 million analyst consensus and a loss of $0.07 per share versus expectations for a $0.41 loss. The results support the case for improving operating performance, although the company remains unprofitable.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted developments involving Castle Biosciences’ diagnostics business, but the available details do not indicate whether the update will materially affect revenue, earnings or reimbursement expectations. Castle Biosciences diagnostics update
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders disclosed stock sales totaling approximately $1.68 million. Derek J. Maetzold sold 28,646 shares, COO Kristen M. Oelschlager sold 8,586 shares, and Tobin W. Juvenal sold 19,040 shares in transactions conducted from July 31 through August 3. The sales reduced their holdings and may weigh on investor sentiment, particularly after the stock’s recent strength. However, all reported transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, making them a less definitive bearish signal than discretionary sales. Castle Biosciences insider sales filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CSTL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $36.00 target price on shares of Castle Biosciences in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Castle Biosciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Castle Biosciences from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Roth Capital started coverage on Castle Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Castle Biosciences from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Castle Biosciences Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Castle Biosciences stock opened at $30.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $928.72 million, a PE ratio of -46.06 and a beta of 0.98. Castle Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.72 and a 52 week high of $44.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 5.85 and a current ratio of 6.04.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.41) by $0.34. The company had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.23 million. Castle Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 4.15% and a negative net margin of 5.43%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Castle Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Castle Biosciences

In other Castle Biosciences news, COO Kristen M. Oelschlager sold 8,586 shares of Castle Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $255,605.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 13,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $395,583.76. The trade was a 39.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Derek J. Maetzold sold 10,664 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total value of $323,652.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $651,887.65. This trade represents a 33.18% 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 101,461 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,541 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.10% 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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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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