GeneDx Holdings Corp. $WGS Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management more than doubled its GeneDx stake in the third quarter, acquiring 328,980 additional shares to own 632,413 shares, or 2.12% of the company valued at approximately $45.7 million.
• Institutional investors own 61.72% of GeneDx, while insiders sold 19,206 shares worth about $1.8 million last quarter. CEO and CFO sales were made to cover tax withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards.
• GeneDx beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.01 in EPS and $114.44 million in revenue. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $90.86, compared with a recent stock price of $63.61.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS - Free Report) by 108.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 632,413 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 328,980 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 2.12% of GeneDx worth $45,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in GeneDx by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,500 shares of the company's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of GeneDx by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of GeneDx by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 40,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,569,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in shares of GeneDx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Keebeck Wealth Management lifted its holdings in GeneDx by 13.5% in the first quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management now owns 4,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,501 shares of GeneDx stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.61, for a total value of $1,025,002.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,476 shares in the company, valued at $11,271,612.36. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevin Feeley sold 3,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.61, for a total transaction of $363,890.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,387,081.45. This represents a 7.66% 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 sold 19,206 shares of company stock worth $1,808,056 over the last quarter. 25.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

GeneDx Price Performance

WGS stock opened at $63.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.32. GeneDx Holdings Corp. has a 1 year low of $32.21 and a 1 year high of $170.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of -17.48 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.20. The company had revenue of $114.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.01 million. GeneDx had a positive return on equity of 4.12% and a negative net margin of 23.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that GeneDx Holdings Corp. will post -0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WGS. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of GeneDx in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on GeneDx from $74.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded GeneDx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised GeneDx from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, GeneDx currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.86.

About GeneDx

GeneDx NASDAQ: WGS is a precision health company that provides genetic testing and related data services. The company focuses on helping healthcare professionals identify genetic conditions, support diagnosis and treatment decisions, and better understand inherited disease.

Its offerings include exome and genome sequencing, testing for rare and undiagnosed disorders, hereditary cancer testing, and other genetic analyses. GeneDx also provides clinical interpretation and reporting intended to help physicians evaluate genetic results in the context of a patient's symptoms and family history.

Founded in 2000, GeneDx has built a business around genomic testing for patients with rare diseases and other inherited conditions.

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