The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 12,820 Shares of GeneDx Holdings Corp. $WGS

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its GeneDx stake by 51.5%, selling 12,820 shares and retaining 12,053 shares valued at approximately $774,000. Institutional investors overall own 61.72% of WGS, with several major funds increasing their positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: seven analysts rate GeneDx a Buy, one rates it Hold and one rates it Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $89.57.
• GeneDx reported quarterly EPS of $0.01, beating estimates by $0.20, while revenue of $114.44 million exceeded forecasts. The stock opened at $79.15, and insiders have been net buyers over the past 90 days despite a recent CEO sale to cover tax obligations.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WGS - Free Report) by 51.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,053 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,820 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings in GeneDx were worth $774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WGS. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of GeneDx by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,018,261 shares of the company's stock worth $132,435,000 after purchasing an additional 474,167 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in GeneDx by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,092,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,154,000 after buying an additional 411,607 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in GeneDx by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 786,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,288,000 after buying an additional 292,394 shares in the last quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its position in GeneDx by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 638,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,024,000 after buying an additional 257,075 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in GeneDx by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 633,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,681,000 after buying an additional 251,732 shares during the period. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $63.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of GeneDx in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of GeneDx in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of GeneDx in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded GeneDx from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised GeneDx from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Seven equities 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 data from MarketBeat, GeneDx currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.57.

GeneDx Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of GeneDx stock opened at $79.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 3.06. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.74 and a beta of 1.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $64.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.72. GeneDx Holdings Corp. has a 1 year low of $32.21 and a 1 year high of $170.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $638,145.77. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 104,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,342,686.44. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Casdin Capital, Llc purchased 185,000 shares of GeneDx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.60 per share, with a total value of $7,881,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,367,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,441,186.40. This represents a 5.81% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 700,000 shares of company stock valued at $32,569,650 and sold 19,135 shares valued at $1,128,499. 25.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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