Zacks Research Downgrades Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) to Hold

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CSTL. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Castle Biosciences from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Castle Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Castle Biosciences from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Castle Biosciences from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Castle Biosciences from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Castle Biosciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.33.

Castle Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of CSTL opened at $21.26 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 6.75, a quick ratio of 6.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $644.82 million, a P/E ratio of -48.32 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.51. Castle Biosciences has a 12 month low of $14.59 and a 12 month high of $44.28.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49). The business had revenue of $84.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.23 million. Castle Biosciences had a negative net margin of 3.78% and a negative return on equity of 2.77%. As a group, analysts predict that Castle Biosciences will post -1.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Castle Biosciences

In related news, insider Derek J. Maetzold sold 18,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.93, for a total value of $483,594.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $573,804.97. This trade represents a 45.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tobin W. Juvenal sold 20,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.24, for a total transaction of $526,582.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,191,463. The trade was a 19.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 88,583 shares of company stock worth $2,250,288 in the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Castle Biosciences

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSTL. Amundi lifted its position in Castle Biosciences by 15,811.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 4,111 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Castle Biosciences by 548.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 137,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,743,000 after acquiring an additional 115,907 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Castle Biosciences by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Castle Biosciences by 10,592.0% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Castle Biosciences by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 34,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 8,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

Castle Biosciences Company Profile

Castle Biosciences, Inc is a molecular diagnostics company specializing in the development and commercialization of prognostic and diagnostic tests for patients with dermatologic conditions. The company’s proprietary portfolio of genomic assays is designed to improve risk assessment and guide clinical decision-making for individuals with skin cancers and other skin-related diseases. By combining genomic data with advanced statistical algorithms, Castle Biosciences seeks to provide actionable insights that help physicians tailor treatment plans and monitoring strategies.

The company’s flagship test, DecisionDx-Melanoma, evaluates the probability of metastasis in patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma, supporting more personalized surveillance and therapeutic approaches.