Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI) Stock Rating Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Genius Sports from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $11.25.
• GENI shares opened at $6.39, up 2.8%, but the company reported a quarterly loss of $0.28 per share—well below the $0.07 loss expected—despite revenue rising 64.7% year over year to $195.5 million.
• Insiders sold 850,000 shares worth about $5.6 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own approximately 81.9% of the company.

Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

GENI has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Genius Sports in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Freedom Capital raised Genius Sports to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Genius Sports from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $10.50 price target on shares of Genius Sports in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Genius Sports in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.25.

Genius Sports Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Genius Sports stock opened at $6.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Genius Sports has a 52-week low of $3.83 and a 52-week high of $12.39. The company's 50 day moving average price is $7.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.40 and a beta of 1.91.

Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $195.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.43 million. Genius Sports had a negative net margin of 22.99% and a negative return on equity of 23.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 64.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.21) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Genius Sports will post -0.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Thomas Russell sold 50,000 shares of Genius Sports stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total transaction of $325,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 471,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,069,250.17. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Locke sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.54, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 19,375,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,713,912.64. The trade was a 0.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 850,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,582,049. Corporate insiders own 16.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GENI. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Genius Sports by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,714,882 shares of the company's stock worth $10,392,000 after purchasing an additional 169,398 shares in the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new stake in Genius Sports in the first quarter worth $1,772,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Genius Sports by 277.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,197,700 shares of the company's stock worth $9,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614,700 shares during the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genius Sports by 23.2% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 3,583,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,876,000 after acquiring an additional 676,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Genius Sports by 65.7% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,909,945 shares of the company's stock worth $17,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549,816 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.91% of the company's stock.

About Genius Sports

Genius Sports Limited is a sports data, technology and media company that provides services to sports leagues, federations, teams, betting operators, broadcasters and brands. The company collects, manages and distributes official sports data, including live scores, statistics, schedules and related content, to support digital products, broadcasts and sports betting applications.

Its offerings include live data and odds solutions for betting operators, sports video and streaming services, fan-engagement tools, digital marketing and advertising technology, and sports integrity services designed to help organizations monitor competitions and protect against certain forms of betting-related misconduct.

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