Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.91, but opened at $15.22. Personalis shares last traded at $15.0180, with a volume of 1,726,099 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC cut Personalis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Lake Street Capital lowered shares of Personalis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $16.25 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Personalis from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Personalis from $11.00 to $16.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Personalis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.25.

Personalis Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.49 and a beta of 2.27.

Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by ($0.04). Personalis had a negative net margin of 153.84% and a negative return on equity of 46.47%. The company had revenue of $22.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.69 million. Research analysts predict that Personalis, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Personalis news, CFO Aaron Tachibana sold 51,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were 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 owned 198,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,620,618.94. This represents a 20.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,315,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 235,986 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 435,032 shares of company stock worth $5,599,929. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Personalis by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,066,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,791,000 after buying an additional 83,074 shares in the last quarter. Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Personalis during the second quarter worth $188,202,236,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Personalis by 148.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 139,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 83,040 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC acquired a new position in Personalis during the fourth quarter worth $4,970,000. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Personalis by 65.5% in the fourth quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 547,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,355,000 after acquiring an additional 216,442 shares in the last quarter. 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.