Quantum-Si (NASDAQ:QSI) Trading Up 24.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Quantum-Si shares rose 24.9% on Wednesday to $1.05 with roughly 17.44 million shares traded — about 530% above average — after closing the prior session at $0.8408.
• Significant insider buying: Director Charles R. Kummeth purchased 500,000 shares at $0.92 and Director Paula Dowdy bought 109,890 shares at $0.95, lifting insider ownership to 22.04%.
• Mixed analyst view and weak fundamentals: the consensus rating is "Hold" with a $3.25 target (Canaccord cut its target to $1.00), and the latest quarter showed EPS of ($0.08) beating estimates but revenue missed and margins/ROE remain deeply negative.

Quantum-Si Incorporated (NASDAQ:QSI - Get Free Report) was up 24.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1.06 and last traded at $1.05. Approximately 17,440,945 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 530% from the average daily volume of 2,767,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.8408.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on QSI shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Quantum-Si from $1.50 to $1.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Quantum-Si in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quantum-Si has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $3.25.

Quantum-Si Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.29. The firm has a market cap of $227.19 million, a P/E ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 3.08.

Quantum-Si (NASDAQ:QSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $0.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.76 million. Quantum-Si had a negative return on equity of 43.90% and a negative net margin of 4,160.06%. On average, equities analysts predict that Quantum-Si Incorporated will post -0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles R. Kummeth bought 500,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $0.92 per share, for a total transaction of $460,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 855,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $786,600. This trade represents a 140.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paula Dowdy bought 109,890 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $0.95 per share, for a total transaction of $104,395.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 269,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $255,651.65. This represents a 69.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,429 shares of company stock worth $45,708 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 22.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of QSI. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quantum-Si in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,721,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Quantum-Si by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,562,721 shares of the company's stock worth $3,919,000 after acquiring an additional 745,231 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Quantum-Si during the third quarter worth $865,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Quantum-Si by 426.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 465,999 shares of the company's stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 377,504 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quantum-Si by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,114,375 shares of the company's stock worth $4,527,000 after acquiring an additional 367,206 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.90% of the company's stock.

About Quantum-Si

Quantum-Si Inc is a life sciences instrumentation company headquartered in Guilford, Connecticut, developing next-generation proteomics solutions based on semiconductor sequencing technology. The company’s core offering centers on a proprietary single-molecule protein sequencing platform that uses a silicon-based sensor chip to convert protein data into digital signals. This approach is designed to deliver high sensitivity, single-amino-acid resolution and deep proteome coverage while potentially reducing cost and complexity compared to traditional mass spectrometry methods.

Quantum-Si’s product roadmap includes the development and commercialization of an integrated system comprising instruments, consumable reagents and proprietary data analysis software.

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