Pulmonx (NASDAQ:LUNG) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Pulmonx from "hold" to "sell", though the street consensus remains a "Hold" (4 Buys, 3 Holds, 1 Sell) with an average analyst target of $5.38.
• Shares are trading around $1.35 (52‑week range $1.13–$3.89) with a market cap near $57M; the company is unprofitable (last quarter EPS -$0.33, net margin -60.09%) and is forecast to post about -1.12 EPS for the year.
• Insider activity shows CEO Glendon E. French III sold 67,813 shares at ~$1.43 (part of 98,265 shares sold in the last 90 days), insiders own 6.8% of the stock while institutional/hedge fund ownership is very high at roughly 91%.

Pulmonx (NASDAQ:LUNG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on LUNG. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Pulmonx from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. D. Boral Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Pulmonx in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Pulmonx in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.38.

Pulmonx Stock Up 5.5%

Shares of LUNG opened at $1.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.28, a current ratio of 5.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.44 and a 200 day moving average of $1.71. The company has a market cap of $57.02 million, a PE ratio of -1.04 and a beta of 0.18. Pulmonx has a 52-week low of $1.13 and a 52-week high of $3.89.

Pulmonx (NASDAQ:LUNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.33). Pulmonx had a negative net margin of 60.09% and a negative return on equity of 87.11%. The business had revenue of $20.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.43 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pulmonx will post -1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glendon E. French III sold 67,813 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.43, for a total value of $96,972.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,409,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,015,600.73. This represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 98,265 shares of company stock worth $140,519 over the last ninety days. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pulmonx

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Pulmonx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,312,000. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pulmonx in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,345,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Pulmonx by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 821,217 shares of the company's stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 28,813 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in Pulmonx by 78.3% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 755,467 shares of the company's stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 331,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Pulmonx by 556.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 481,268 shares of the company's stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 407,971 shares during the period. 91.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pulmonx Company Profile

Pulmonx Corporation is a commercial-stage medical device company focused on bronchoscopic lung volume reduction for patients suffering from severe emphysema. The company's flagship therapy, the Zephyr® Endobronchial Valve System, employs one-way valves delivered via a minimally invasive bronchoscopic procedure to collapse diseased portions of the lung, reducing hyperinflation and improving respiratory function. Complementing this treatment, Pulmonx offers the Chartis® Pulmonary Assessment System, which provides clinicians with quantitative measurements of collateral ventilation to aid in patient selection and optimize clinical outcomes.

The Zephyr Valve received the CE mark in Europe in 2008 and FDA approval in the United States in 2018, and it has since been adopted by leading respiratory and thoracic centers across North America and Europe.

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