Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Personalis to $13 from $9, while keeping an equal weight rating. The new target still implies downside from the stock’s previous close.
• Personalis shares were up 5.3% to $14.86 on Thursday, near the top of their 52-week range, with trading volume above average.
• Recent company and analyst signals have been mixed: Personalis missed quarterly EPS expectations, insiders including the CFO and CEO sold shares, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy average analyst rating with a $11.67 consensus price target.

Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential downside of 12.54% from the company's previous close.

PSNL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Personalis in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Personalis from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Personalis from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.67.

Personalis Trading Up 5.3%

NASDAQ PSNL traded up $0.75 on Thursday, hitting $14.86. 3,137,133 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,184,370. Personalis has a 1-year low of $3.84 and a 1-year high of $15.36. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $9.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of -14.63 and a beta of 2.24.

Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $15.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 million. Personalis had a negative return on equity of 43.52% and a negative net margin of 148.11%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Personalis will post -1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Personalis

In other news, CFO Aaron Tachibana sold 51,251 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.18, for a total transaction of $675,488.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 198,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,620,618.94. This represents a 20.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher M. Hall sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.15, for a total value of $1,315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 235,986 shares in the company, valued at $3,103,215.90. This trade represents a 29.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 335,032 shares of company stock valued at $4,091,929 in the last ninety days. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Personalis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSNL. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Personalis by 76.1% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,423 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Personalis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Personalis in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Personalis by 406.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,451 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 5,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Personalis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 61.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Personalis

Personalis, Inc NASDAQ: PSNL is a clinical‐stage genomics company that develops and markets advanced next‐generation sequencing (NGS) services and assays designed to accelerate precision medicine. The Company's core offering is the ImmunoID NeXT™ Platform, which combines comprehensive tumor profiling—including whole exome, transcriptome, and T‐cell receptor sequencing—with proprietary bioinformatics to identify biomarkers and guide immuno‐oncology research. Personalis serves biopharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and clinical research organizations seeking in‐depth insights into cancer, autoimmune diseases and other complex conditions.

In addition to its flagship ImmunoID NeXT™ Platform, Personalis offers a suite of customizable sequencing assays for biomarker discovery, clinical trial support and companion diagnostic development.

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