Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) Stock Price Down 6.1% on Insider Selling

Castle Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTL)’s share price fell 6.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $34.48 and last traded at $34.4220. Approximately 69,597 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 395,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.65.

Specifically, COO Kristen Oelschlager sold 4,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total transaction of $149,300.35. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,356 shares in the company, valued at $480,148.20. This trade represents a 23.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Tobin Juvenal sold 1,034 shares of Castle Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.20, for a total value of $35,362.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 52,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,778,639.40. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In other news, insider Tobin Juvenal sold 5,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.50, for a total transaction of $196,776.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 53,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,882,955.50. This represents a 9.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSTL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Castle Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $36.00 price target on shares of Castle Biosciences in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Castle Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Castle Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Castle Biosciences from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Castle Biosciences Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 5.85, a current ratio of 6.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.92 and a 200 day moving average of $26.41.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by $0.34. The business had revenue of $99.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.23 million. Castle Biosciences had a negative net margin of 5.43% and a negative return on equity of 4.15%. On average, equities analysts predict that Castle Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.29 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Castle Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Castle Biosciences in the second quarter worth about $78,513,000. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Castle Biosciences by 164.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC now owns 1,058,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,184,000 after purchasing an additional 658,725 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Castle Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,440,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Castle Biosciences in the second quarter worth $13,001,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Castle Biosciences by 8.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 532,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,080,000 after purchasing an additional 39,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

Castle Biosciences Company Profile

Castle Biosciences, Inc is a molecular diagnostics company that develops and commercializes tests designed to provide personalized information for patients with cancer and other serious diseases. Its products analyze biological characteristics in tissue samples to help physicians assess disease risk, guide treatment decisions and support patient management.

The company’s portfolio includes diagnostic tests for skin cancers, such as DecisionDx-Melanoma for assessing metastatic risk in patients with cutaneous melanoma and DecisionDx-SCC for evaluating metastatic risk in certain cases of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.