Paragon Associates & Paragon Associates II Joint Venture Buys 205,597 Shares of CareDx, Inc. $CDNA

Key Points

• Paragon Associates & Paragon Associates II JV boosted its CareDx stake by 93.7% in Q3, adding 205,597 shares to hold 425,000 shares (about 0.83% of the company) and making CDNA 11.0% of the JV's portfolio (its third-largest position).
• CareDx missed EPS expectations ($0.12 vs. $0.24) but posted revenue of $108.39M, up 25.2% year-over-year and above estimates; the stock opened at $17.89 (down ~4.6%), the company is unprofitable (negative ROE and net margin) and has a market cap near $916M.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus "Hold" rating (3 Buys, 5 Holds, 1 Sell) and a consensus price target of $27.33, amid recent downgrades by some firms and raised targets by others.

Paragon Associates & Paragon Associates II Joint Venture raised its stake in shares of CareDx, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNA - Free Report) by 93.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 425,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 205,597 shares during the quarter. CareDx makes up 11.0% of Paragon Associates & Paragon Associates II Joint Venture's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Paragon Associates & Paragon Associates II Joint Venture owned 0.83% of CareDx worth $6,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDNA. Next Century Growth Investors LLC raised its stake in shares of CareDx by 309.4% in the 2nd quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 1,125,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,991,000 after purchasing an additional 850,580 shares in the last quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in shares of CareDx by 40.8% during the third quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,740,064 shares of the company's stock worth $25,283,000 after purchasing an additional 504,473 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in CareDx by 40.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,740,064 shares of the company's stock worth $25,301,000 after purchasing an additional 503,136 shares in the last quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC grew its stake in CareDx by 153.8% in the third quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 575,000 shares of the company's stock worth $8,360,000 after purchasing an additional 348,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in CareDx in the second quarter valued at about $6,171,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CDNA. Weiss Ratings cut CareDx from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered CareDx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Craig Hallum lowered CareDx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. BTIG Research upped their price target on CareDx from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on CareDx from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.33.

CareDx Trading Down 4.6%

NASDAQ:CDNA opened at $17.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $916.33 million, a PE ratio of -44.73 and a beta of 2.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.53 and a 200-day moving average of $17.04. CareDx, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.96 and a 52 week high of $21.49.

CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.12). CareDx had a negative return on equity of 6.50% and a negative net margin of 5.65%.The company had revenue of $108.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that CareDx, Inc. will post -0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CareDx news, CEO John Walter Hanna, Jr. sold 19,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total value of $407,964.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 597,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,641,089.80. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 29,636 shares of company stock valued at $625,949 over the last quarter. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CareDx Profile

CareDx, Inc NASDAQ: CDNA is a precision diagnostics company focused on the care of transplant patients. The firm develops and commercializes non‐invasive tests designed to detect organ transplant rejection and infection risk, helping physicians make informed management decisions throughout the post‐transplant journey.

The company's core product portfolio includes AlloMap®, a gene expression profiling test for heart transplant recipients, and AlloSure®, a donor‐derived cell‐free DNA assay used primarily in kidney transplant monitoring.

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