Institutional investors have a lot riding on Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL) with 37% ownership

Personalis -22.58%

Personalis

PSNL

4.32

-22.58%

Key Insights

  • Institutions' substantial holdings in Personalis implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
  • 55% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
  • Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 37% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained US$28m in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 444% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Personalis.

ownership-breakdown
NasdaqGM:PSNL Ownership Breakdown October 31st 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Personalis?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Personalis. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Personalis' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
NasdaqGM:PSNL Earnings and Revenue Growth October 31st 2024

Personalis is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Tempus AI, Inc is the largest shareholder with 22% of shares outstanding. Lightspeed Ventures, LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 14% of common stock, and ARK Investment Management LLC holds about 11% of the company stock.

On looking further, we found that 55% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Personalis

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can see that insiders own shares in Personalis, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$5.1m worth of the US$291m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 17% stake in Personalis. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 21%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 22% of the Personalis shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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