Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ:CAI) Trading Up 7.9% – Time to Buy?

Caris Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAI)’s share price was up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.63 and last traded at $18.6940. 732,427 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 2,630,706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caris Life Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Evercore set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Caris Life Sciences in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Caris Life Sciences from $30.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Caris Life Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.11.

Caris Life Sciences Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.37. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion and a P/E ratio of -2.40. The company has a current ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 6.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Caris Life Sciences announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, June 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Caris Life Sciences

In related news, Director Jeff L. Vacirca acquired 31,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.15 per share, for a total transaction of $501,457.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 49,671 shares in the company, valued at $802,186.65. This trade represents a 166.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 50.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caris Life Sciences

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caris Life Sciences by 84.0% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 99,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 128.3% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Caris Life Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caris Life Sciences by 839.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during 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.