Insider Selling: Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ:CAI) President Sells 119,212 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Caris Life Sciences President David Baxley Spetzler sold 119,212 shares at an average price of $24.76, generating approximately $2.95 million. The sale covered tax-withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards and reduced his direct holdings by 9.16%; he also sold 478,000 shares the prior day.
• CAI shares fell 1.0% to $25.07, while the company has authorized a $100 million share-repurchase program covering up to 2.1% of outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with seven Buy, four Hold, and one Sell rating, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $26.33.

Caris Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAI - Get Free Report) President David Baxley Spetzler sold 119,212 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.76, for a total transaction of $2,951,689.12. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 1,182,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,287,885.96. The trade was a 9.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

David Baxley Spetzler also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 3rd, David Baxley Spetzler sold 478,000 shares of Caris Life Sciences stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.86, for a total value of $11,883,080.00.

Caris Life Sciences Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CAI traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.07. 4,711,249 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,206,680. The firm has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 5.53, a quick ratio of 4.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Caris Life Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.19 and a 12-month high of $36.65. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $19.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.80.

Caris Life Sciences declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Caris Life Sciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Caris Life Sciences from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Caris Life Sciences from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Caris Life Sciences from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caris Life Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAI. PointState Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Caris Life Sciences in the second quarter worth approximately $121,690,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Caris Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $98,666,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Caris Life Sciences by 64,861.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,249,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,386 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Caris Life Sciences by 23,902.9% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,660,280 shares of the company's stock worth $44,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 185.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,445,281 shares of the company's stock worth $65,974,000 after buying an additional 1,587,176 shares in the last quarter.

About Caris Life Sciences

Caris Life Sciences NASDAQ: CAI is a molecular science company focused on advancing precision medicine in oncology. The company develops and delivers comprehensive molecular profiling services designed to identify actionable biomarkers across DNA, RNA and protein modalities. Its clinical services are intended to support oncologists in treatment decision-making by matching patients to targeted therapies, immunotherapies and relevant clinical trials based on tumor biology.

Caris provides laboratory-based diagnostic testing and related interpretive reports, combining high-throughput sequencing and other molecular technologies with bioinformatic analysis.

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