Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI) Upgraded to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Genius Sports from “strong sell” to “sell,” contrasting with the broader analyst consensus of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.44.
• Genius Sports reported 64.7% year-over-year revenue growth to $195.5 million, but its quarterly loss of $0.28 per share was substantially worse than the expected $0.07 loss, and the company remains unprofitable.
• Insider selling may weigh on investor sentiment: executives sold approximately 850,000 shares worth $5.6 million over the past 90 days, including a 477,449-share sale by CEO Mark Locke.

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

GENI has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Genius Sports in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Genius Sports from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Freedom Capital raised shares of Genius Sports to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $10.50 target price on shares of Genius Sports in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Genius Sports from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Genius Sports has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.44.

Genius Sports Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GENI opened at $5.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.27 and a beta of 1.88. The business's 50-day moving average price is $7.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.96. Genius Sports has a one year low of $3.83 and a one year high of $13.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 64.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.21) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Genius Sports will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Thomas Russell sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total value of $325,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 471,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,069,250.17. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Locke sold 477,449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $3,141,614.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 19,697,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $129,611,306.86. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 850,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,582,049 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 16.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genius Sports

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GENI. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Genius Sports by 11.0% during 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 during the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Genius Sports in the first quarter valued at about $1,772,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Genius Sports by 277.0% during 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 lifted its holdings in Genius Sports by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 3,583,833 shares of the company's stock worth $15,876,000 after purchasing an additional 676,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genius Sports by 65.7% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,909,945 shares of the company's stock worth $17,321,000 after buying an additional 1,549,816 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.91% of the company's stock.

More Genius Sports News

Here are the key news stories impacting Genius Sports this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Genius Sports launched Prediction.com, a platform that compares prediction-market probabilities, event contracts and related insights. The product could expand the company’s sports-data ecosystem and create additional advertising, data and wagering-related revenue opportunities. Genius Sports Launches Prediction.com
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains generally favorable, with a reported consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.44. Recent target increases and the company’s 64.7% year-over-year revenue growth provide longer-term support, despite continued losses.
• Neutral Sentiment: Genius Sports is expanding its media business through a basketball content series featuring Chris Paul. The initiative may improve engagement and brand visibility, but its direct financial contribution was not disclosed. Chris Paul content series
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Locke sold 800,000 shares between September 15 and 17 for approximately $5.26 million. He still owns roughly 19.38 million shares, but the cluster of sales can be interpreted as a cautionary signal and may add near-term selling pressure. SEC CEO ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Thomas Russell separately sold 50,000 shares for $325,500, reducing his ownership by about 9.6%. Multiple insider sales in a short period are likely contributing to investor concern. SEC Thomas Russell ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: Prediction markets face ongoing legal and regulatory challenges, creating uncertainty around Prediction.com’s rollout and monetization potential. Genius Sports also remains unprofitable, with its latest quarterly EPS materially below expectations despite revenue exceeding estimates. Genius Sports CEO on prediction-market legal challenges

About Genius Sports

Genius Sports Limited NYSE: GENI is a sports technology and data company that provides official sports data, technology, and digital services to sports leagues, federations, teams, broadcasters, sportsbooks, and brands. Its platforms help clients collect, manage, distribute, and commercialize live sports information across digital channels.

The company's offerings include live scores and statistics, data feeds for sports betting, fan-engagement tools, video streaming and content services, and advertising and sponsorship technology.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.