Merck & Co. Inc. Makes New Investment in Personalis, Inc. $PSNL

Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,044,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,202,236,000. Personalis comprises 35.8% of Merck & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Merck & Co. Inc. owned about 0.13% of Personalis at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Personalis by 76.1% in 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Personalis in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Personalis during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Personalis by 406.4% during the 2nd 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. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Personalis in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. 61.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Personalis Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of PSNL opened at $13.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.74 and a beta of 2.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.50. Personalis, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.44 and a twelve month high of $16.39.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on PSNL shares. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of Personalis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $16.25 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Personalis from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Personalis in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Needham & Company LLC lowered Personalis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Personalis from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.25.

Insider Transactions at Personalis

In other Personalis news, CEO Christopher M. Hall sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 235,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,103,215.90. This represents a 29.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Aaron Tachibana sold 51,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,620,618.94. This trade represents a 20.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 435,032 shares of company stock worth $5,599,929. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.