Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Wall Street’s consensus rating is “Hold”: Of 11 analysts covering Personalis, seven rate it Hold, three Buy, and one Sell. The average 12-month price target is $14.54, below the reported share price of $15.90.
• Financial results remain weak: Personalis reported a quarterly loss of $0.30 per share, missing estimates by $0.04, despite revenue of $22.36 million exceeding expectations. Analysts forecast a full-year loss of $1.07 per share.
• Institutional ownership is significant: Hedge funds and other institutions own 61.91% of the stock, with Merck & Co. making a new investment worth approximately $188.2 million. Insiders sold 16,456 shares worth $266,916 during the quarter, primarily to cover tax obligations on vested equity awards.

Shares of Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.54.

PSNL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Personalis in a report on Thursday, October 15th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Personalis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Personalis from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of Personalis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Personalis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $16.25 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 24th.

Personalis Stock Performance

PSNL stock opened at $15.90 on Thursday. Personalis has a fifty-two week low of $4.95 and a fifty-two week high of $18.89. The business's 50-day moving average is $16.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.25. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.59 and a beta of 2.32.

Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.04). Personalis had a negative net margin of 153.84% and a negative return on equity of 46.47%. The firm had revenue of $22.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.69 million. Equities analysts predict that Personalis will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Personalis

In other news, CFO Aaron Tachibana sold 2,931 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.22, for a total value of $47,540.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 195,902 shares in the company, valued at $3,177,530.44. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Stephen Moore sold 2,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.22, for a total value of $33,542.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 90,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,463,968.54. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,456 shares of company stock worth $266,916. 4.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Personalis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PSNL. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Personalis in the second quarter worth about $188,202,236. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Personalis by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,066,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,791,000 after buying an additional 83,074 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Personalis by 7,822.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 87,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 85,969 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Personalis by 148.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 139,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 83,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Personalis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,146,000. 61.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Personalis Company Profile

Personalis, Inc is a genomics company focused on applying advanced sequencing and bioinformatics to cancer research and precision medicine. The company develops tests and data platforms designed to help researchers and clinicians characterize tumors, monitor disease, and support the development of targeted therapies.

Its product portfolio includes the NeXT Platform, which analyzes tumor and normal DNA and RNA to provide a detailed view of cancer biology, as well as products such as NeXT Dx, NeXT Liquid Biopsy, and NeXT Personal.

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.