Zacks Research Upgrades CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded CareDx to “strong buy” from “hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remained “hold” with an average price target of $47.75.
• CareDx reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.37 versus estimates of $0.23 and revenue of $131.95 million, up 52.2% year over year.
• The stock traded up 4.2% at $46.69, near its 12-month high of $49.76. Institutional investors increased exposure, while company insiders sold 114,936 shares worth about $3.77 million over the prior 90 days.

CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded CareDx from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Craig Hallum upgraded CareDx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of CareDx in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded CareDx from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, William Blair upgraded CareDx to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.75.

CareDx Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of CareDx stock opened at $46.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56 and a beta of 2.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.01 and a 200 day moving average of $23.52. CareDx has a 12 month low of $11.27 and a 12 month high of $49.76.

CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.37 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $131.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 52.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CareDx will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CareDx news, Director Hannah Valantine sold 12,103 shares of CareDx stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $279,700.33. Following the transaction, the director owned 36,686 shares in the company, valued at $847,813.46. The trade was a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christine Cournoyer sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total transaction of $751,040.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 42,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,015,744.42. The trade was a 27.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 114,936 shares of company stock worth $3,770,348 over the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in CareDx in the second quarter valued at approximately $137,219,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of CareDx by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,737,752 shares of the company's stock worth $51,579,000 after purchasing an additional 171,303 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of CareDx by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,435,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,593,000 after purchasing an additional 245,651 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of CareDx in the 3rd quarter worth $31,857,000. Finally, Gagnon Securities LLC grew its stake in CareDx by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 1,774,890 shares of the company's stock worth $33,439,000 after buying an additional 45,465 shares during the last quarter.

About CareDx

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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