1,820,541 Shares in Personalis, Inc. $PSNL Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1.82 million Personalis shares worth approximately $24.4 million, giving it a 1.74% stake. Institutional investors collectively own about 61.9% of PSNL.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: four analysts rate the stock Buy, five Hold and one Sell. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $14.54 versus the recent price near $16.35.
• Personalis remains unprofitable and recently missed quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a $0.30 loss per share despite revenue exceeding estimates. Recent insider sales were primarily for tax withholding tied to vested equity awards, while executives retained substantial holdings.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,820,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,395,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.74% of Personalis as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PSNL. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Personalis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $405,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Personalis in the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Personalis during the 2nd quarter worth $488,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Personalis during the 2nd quarter valued at $248,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Personalis during the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. 61.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on PSNL shares. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Personalis in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Personalis from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of Personalis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $16.25 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Personalis in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Personalis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $16.25 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Richard Chen sold 3,998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.22, for a total transaction of $64,847.56. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 169,882 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,486.04. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 Personalis stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were 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 owned 90,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,463,968.54. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 272,689 shares of company stock valued at $3,835,152. Insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Personalis

Here are the key news stories impacting Personalis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest remains a supportive factor. Several hedge funds opened positions in Personalis during the second quarter, while the Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake by 28.2%. Institutions collectively own approximately 61.9% of the company. Personalis insider trading and institutional ownership report
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent insider sales by the CEO, CFO, CMO and SVP totaled about 16,500 shares at an average price of $16.22. The filings state that the transactions were made to cover tax withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards, and each executive retained a substantial remaining position, reducing the significance of the sales as a bearish signal. Personalis executive insider sale filings
• Negative Sentiment: Brodsky & Smith announced an investor investigation involving Personalis. The notice does not provide specific allegations or confirm wrongdoing, but shareholder-investigation announcements can create uncertainty and add short-term pressure to the stock. Brodsky and Smith Personalis shareholder investigation notice
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and earnings concerns remain important risks. Personalis recently missed quarterly EPS expectations, remains unprofitable, and analysts’ consensus target of $14.54 is below the stock’s recent trading level. The average analyst rating is “Hold,” with four Buy, five Hold and one Sell recommendation.

Personalis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSNL opened at $16.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.00 and a beta of 2.31. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $15.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.00. Personalis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.95 and a 12 month high of $18.89.

Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.69 million. Analysts anticipate that Personalis, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Personalis Profile

Personalis, Inc is a genomics company focused on precision oncology and advanced molecular testing. The company develops and commercializes genomic products designed to help identify, monitor and characterize cancer, supporting more informed treatment decisions and the development of targeted therapies.

Its offerings include tissue- and blood-based tumor profiling, liquid biopsy testing and immune profiling. Personalis' technologies are designed to detect and track tumor-derived signals, evaluate genomic alterations and provide insights into the interaction between cancer and the immune system.

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