Castle Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Castle Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,610,000 shares, a decrease of 6.4% from the September 15th total of 1,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 397,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Insider Activity at Castle Biosciences

In related news, insider Derek J. Maetzold sold 1,972 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.27, for a total value of $63,636.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 91,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,957,997.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Derek J. Maetzold sold 986 shares of Castle Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.73, for a total value of $28,327.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,718,490.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Derek J. Maetzold sold 1,972 shares of Castle Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.27, for a total transaction of $63,636.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,957,997.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,476 shares of company stock valued at $1,181,637. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Castle Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CSTL. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Castle Biosciences by 130.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 210,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,669,000 after buying an additional 119,443 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Castle Biosciences by 116.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 212,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,616,000 after purchasing an additional 114,104 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Castle Biosciences by 249.3% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 138,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 99,001 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Castle Biosciences by 47.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 301,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,564,000 after purchasing an additional 96,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Castle Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,102,000. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Castle Biosciences Stock Performance

Castle Biosciences stock traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $32.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 126,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,155. Castle Biosciences has a 1-year low of $12.23 and a 1-year high of $34.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 8.12 and a quick ratio of 7.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.43. The company has a market cap of $904.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.37 and a beta of 1.03.

Castle Biosciences (NASDAQ:CSTL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.47. The business had revenue of $87.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.95 million. Castle Biosciences had a negative net margin of 1.08% and a negative return on equity of 0.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.70) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Castle Biosciences will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CSTL. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Castle Biosciences from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Castle Biosciences from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Castle Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Castle Biosciences Company Profile

Castle Biosciences, Inc, a molecular diagnostics company, provides testing solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of dermatologic cancers, Barrett's esophagus, uveal melanoma, and mental health conditions. It offers DecisionDx-Melanoma, a risk stratification gene expression profile (GEP) test to identify the risk of metastasis for patients diagnosed with invasive cutaneous melanoma; DecisionDx-SCC, a proprietary risk stratification GEP test for patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma; MyPath Melanoma, a test used for patients with difficult-to-diagnose melanocytic lesions; and TissueCypher, a spatial omics test to predict future development of high-grade dysplasia and/or esophageal cancer in patients with non-dysplastic, indefinite dysplasia, or low-grade dysplasia Barrett's esophagus.