CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• CareDx shares hit a new 52-week high of $72.71, well above the $57 consensus analyst price target. Despite the rally, Wall Street’s average rating remains “Hold,” with three Buy ratings and five Hold ratings.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.37 versus the $0.23 consensus estimate and revenue of $131.95 million, up 52.2% year over year.
• Institutional interest has increased, including major new positions from BlackRock and Bamco, while two directors sold shares under reported transactions; insiders own 2.4% of the company.

Shares of CareDx, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $72.71 and last traded at $71.4140, with a volume of 253,968 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CDNA has been the topic of a number of research reports. William Blair upgraded CareDx to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research cut CareDx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded CareDx from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Craig Hallum raised CareDx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of CareDx in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

CareDx Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $55.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35 and a beta of 2.38.

CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.14. CareDx had a net margin of 24.23% and a return on equity of 2.87%. The business had revenue of $131.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.05 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.16) EPS. The company's revenue was up 52.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that CareDx, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CareDx

In other news, Director George Bickerstaff, III sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $925,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 134,061 shares in the company, valued at $6,204,343.08. This represents a 12.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine Cournoyer sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total value of $751,040.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 42,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,015,744.42. The trade was a 27.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CareDx in the second quarter valued at $137,219,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in CareDx during the second quarter worth about $55,214,000. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its stake in CareDx by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,475,126 shares of the company's stock worth $25,608,000 after buying an additional 28,510 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in CareDx by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,475,126 shares of the company's stock worth $25,608,000 after buying an additional 28,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in CareDx by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,461,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,375,000 after buying an additional 151,934 shares during the period.

CareDx Company Profile

CareDx, Inc is a healthcare diagnostics company focused on improving the care of organ-transplant patients. The company develops and commercializes noninvasive tests and digital tools intended to help physicians assess transplant-organ health, identify potential rejection, and support long-term patient management.

Its offerings include AlloSure donor-derived cell-free DNA tests for monitoring transplant recipients, AlloMap gene-expression testing for heart-transplant patients, and HeartCare, which combines AlloMap and AlloSure results.

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