Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI) Stock Rating Raised to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Genius Sports from “strong sell” to “sell,” while broader analyst sentiment remains more favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $11.25.
• GENI shares opened at $6.35, well below the consensus price target. The company’s latest quarter featured revenue of $195.5 million, up 64.7% year over year, but an adjusted loss of $0.28 per share that missed estimates.
• Insiders sold 850,000 shares worth approximately $5.6 million during the last quarter, although institutional investors continue to own a substantial 81.91% of the company.

Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on GENI. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Genius Sports in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $10.50 price target on shares of Genius Sports in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Genius Sports from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Genius Sports from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Genius Sports from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.25.

Genius Sports Stock Performance

Shares of GENI stock opened at $6.35 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $6.93 and its 200 day moving average is $6.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Genius Sports has a 12 month low of $3.83 and a 12 month high of $12.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.33 and a beta of 1.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thomas Russell sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total transaction of $325,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 471,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,069,250.17. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Locke sold 50,000 shares of Genius Sports stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.54, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 850,000 shares of company stock worth $5,582,049. Corporate insiders own 16.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Genius Sports

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GENI. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genius Sports in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Baer Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Genius Sports during the first quarter valued at $61,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Genius Sports in the third quarter worth about $63,000. Lexington Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in Genius Sports in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Genius Sports by 29.1% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 3,440 shares in the last quarter. 81.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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