GeneDx Holdings Corp. $WGS Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its GeneDx stake by 143.4% in the first quarter, adding 156,603 shares to hold 265,791 shares worth approximately $17.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 61.72% of WGS.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with seven Buy ratings, one Hold and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $89.57. Piper Sandler raised its target to $63, while Wells Fargo lowered its target to $75.
• GeneDx reported quarterly EPS of $0.01, beating estimates by $0.20, and revenue of $114.44 million versus the $111.01 million consensus. Shares opened at $77.08, up 10.8%, although the company remains unprofitable with a negative 23.41% net margin.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS - Free Report) by 143.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 265,791 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 156,603 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.91% of GeneDx worth $17,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of GeneDx by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 381,725 shares of the company's stock worth $49,647,000 after buying an additional 89,470 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in GeneDx by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,220,502 shares of the company's stock worth $158,738,000 after acquiring an additional 52,322 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of GeneDx by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,189,069 shares of the company's stock worth $154,650,000 after purchasing an additional 18,647 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of GeneDx by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,092,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,154,000 after purchasing an additional 411,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Group LLC bought a new position in shares of GeneDx during the fourth quarter worth about $7,167,000. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WGS. Weiss Ratings upgraded GeneDx from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of GeneDx from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $63.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of GeneDx in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Seven investment 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.57.

GeneDx Stock Up 10.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WGS opened at $77.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.57. GeneDx Holdings Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.21 and a 52 week high of $170.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 2.95 and a current ratio of 3.30. The company has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of -21.18 and a beta of 1.92.

GeneDx (NASDAQ:WGS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.20. The company had revenue of $114.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.01 million. GeneDx had a negative net margin of 23.41% and a positive return on equity of 4.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that GeneDx Holdings Corp. will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Katherine Stueland sold 10,501 shares of GeneDx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.77, for a total transaction of $638,145.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 104,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,342,686.44. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Casdin Capital, Llc bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.86 per share, for a total transaction of $2,643,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,707,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,960,689.04. The trade was a 1.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,551,273 shares of company stock valued at $65,979,582 and sold 19,135 shares valued at $1,128,499. Corporate insiders own 25.17% of the company's stock.

GeneDx 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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source