BTIG downgraded Talis Biomedical (NASDAQ:TLIS) to “neutral” from “buy” and removed its price target after president, CEO, director and co-founder, Brian Coe, stepped down from the board and executive. The stock closed at $8.53 on Aug. 31.
“The move caught us by surprise given that this change comes just six months following the company’s successful $253-million-plus IPO in February (and a CEO change this close to an IPO is uncommon),” writes analyst Mark Massaro.
The good news is that Talis has diagnostics industry veteran and former Talis board member, and former chair, president and CEO of Genomic Health, Kim Popovits, steps in as interim CEO of Talis, which “we view positively.”
Mr. Massaro said he discussed the context for the transition with Ms. Popovits and the Talis management team. “However, our not knowing timelines for future product launches or the future CEO leaves us with limited visibility on the stock as well as our revenue estimates in the near-term,” he added.
