Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL) saw strong trading volume on Friday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $17.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. 1,552,021 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 2,378,962 shares.The stock last traded at $16.0710 and had previously closed at $15.58.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on PSNL. Wall Street Zen lowered Personalis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Personalis in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research dropped their price target on Personalis from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Personalis from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Personalis in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Personalis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Insider Activity at Personalis

In other news, CFO Aaron Tachibana sold 51,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.18, for a total value of $675,488.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 198,833 shares in the company, valued at $2,620,618.94. This represents a 20.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.15, for a total value of $1,315,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 235,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 435,032 shares of company stock worth $5,599,929. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Personalis

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Personalis by 76.1% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Personalis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Personalis in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Personalis by 406.4% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 5,177 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Personalis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. 61.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Personalis Stock Up 3.1%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.75 and its 200 day moving average is $8.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of -15.75 and a beta of 2.24.

Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $15.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 million. Personalis had a negative net margin of 148.11% and a negative return on equity of 43.52%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Personalis, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current year.

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.