Jennison Associates LLC Sells 134,315 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Key Points

• Jennison Associates cut its stake in Casella by 40.1%, selling 134,315 shares and now holds 200,455 shares (about $19.6M); institutional investors own 99.51% of the company, with Vanguard notably increasing to 6.57M shares.
• Q1 beat and upbeat guidance — Casella reported $0.20 EPS vs. $0.10 expected and $457.3M revenue (up ~9.6% y/y), and management issued FY2026 revenue guidance around $2.1B while highlighting acquisitions as a growth driver.
• Despite the results, the stock appears stretched with a very high P/E (roughly 700–790) and thin net margins (~0.4%), and insiders have sold 15,830 shares (~$1.45M) in the past 90 days (insider ownership 3.81%).

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 134,315 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Casella Waste Systems worth $19,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $643,945,000 after acquiring an additional 581,310 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 8.7% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,708,528 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $351,865,000 after acquiring an additional 296,405 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 7.3% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,876,061 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $272,881,000 after acquiring an additional 195,947 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 39.3% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,010,818 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $190,786,000 after acquiring an additional 566,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 0.5% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,809,867 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,720,000 after acquiring an additional 9,712 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, Director John W. Casella sold 1,744 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $153,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,702,877.15. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $62,511.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $691,055.82. This trade represents a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,208 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.81% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Casella Waste Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Casella Waste Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat — Casella reported $0.20 EPS vs. a ~$0.10 consensus, beating estimates and topping year-ago EPS of $0.19, which helped lift sentiment. Zacks: Casella Tops Q1 Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and growth — Q1 revenue was $457.33M vs. ~$454.5M expected, up ~9.6% year-over-year, signaling continued top-line growth. MarketBeat: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: FY2026 revenue guidance and acquisition strategy — Management issued FY2026 revenue guidance around $2.1B and highlighted strategic acquisitions as growth drivers, which supports a constructive forward view on revenue. GlobeNewswire: Q1 Results & Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary — The Q1 earnings call/transcript provided additional color on operations, acquisitions and execution; investors will watch how integration and cost synergies translate to margins. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Press coverage corroborates results — Local and national outlets summarized the beat and guidance; no major surprises beyond the results and acquisition focus. GreenwichTime: Q1 Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and thin margins — The stock trades at a very high P/E (~724) and Casella's reported net margin was about 0.43%, highlighting a stretched valuation relative to near-term earnings power that could limit upside if execution falters. MarketBeat: Valuation & Metrics

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.00.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 9.6%

Shares of CWST opened at $86.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 789.44 and a beta of 0.77. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.05 and a 12-month high of $121.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.93.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $457.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.49 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.20%. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional resource management company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. Established in 1975, the company has grown from a single-truck operation into a multi-state provider of integrated waste management solutions. Casella offers a comprehensive range of services, including residential, commercial and industrial waste collection, transfer station operations, landfill disposal, recycling processing and organics management.

Through a network of solid waste transfer stations, recycling facilities and landfills, Casella serves communities primarily across the northeastern United States and parts of the mid-Atlantic region.

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.