Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PSNL. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Personalis from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Personalis from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Personalis from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Personalis from $6.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Personalis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.57.

Personalis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSNL opened at $9.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.73. Personalis has a fifty-two week low of $2.83 and a fifty-two week high of $11.40. The company has a market capitalization of $848.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.86 and a beta of 1.99.

Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.31 million. Personalis had a negative net margin of 106.92% and a negative return on equity of 38.25%. Equities research analysts expect that Personalis will post -1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher M. Hall sold 29,612 shares of Personalis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.99, for a total value of $266,211.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 148,486 shares in the company, valued at $1,334,889.14. This trade represents a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Aaron Tachibana sold 103,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total transaction of $1,117,541.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 164,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,857.24. This represents a 38.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Personalis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Personalis by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 78,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares in the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Personalis by 0.9% in the second quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 285,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Personalis in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Personalis during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Personalis by 406.4% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 5,177 shares during the last quarter. 61.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Personalis

Personalis, Inc develops and markets advanced cancer genomic tests and analytics primarily in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. Its tests and analytics are used by pharmaceutical companies for translational research, biomarker discovery, and development of personalized cancer therapies, as well as advanced tests are used by physicians to detect cancer recurrence, monitor cancer evolution, and uncover insights for therapy selection.