Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Six analysts rate Precigen a consensus “Moderate Buy,” with four buys, one hold and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $13.67 versus the reported share price of $6.39.
• Precigen reported a strong quarterly beat: The biotech company posted EPS of $0.05 versus a consensus loss of $0.01 and revenue of $54.98 million, well above the $27.98 million estimate. Revenue increased more than 6,300% year over year.
• Insider selling contrasts with institutional support: Insiders sold 401,511 shares worth about $2.8 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own 33.51% of the stock and several institutions increased their positions.

Shares of Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.67.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PGEN shares. B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on Precigen in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Precigen from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Precigen in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research cut Precigen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Precigen from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Rutul R. Shah sold 15,342 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total value of $115,065.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 468,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,487.50. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 185,000 shares of Precigen stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.44, for a total transaction of $1,376,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $127,224. This represents a 91.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 401,511 shares of company stock valued at $2,801,508. 41.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Precigen

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Precigen by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 374,514 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Precigen by 10.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 53,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Precigen by 102.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,714 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 5,426 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Precigen during the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Precigen during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Precigen Stock Performance

PGEN stock opened at $6.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 3.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $7.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.62. Precigen has a fifty-two week low of $3.04 and a fifty-two week high of $8.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 0.92.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $54.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.98 million. Precigen had a positive return on equity of 423.75% and a negative net margin of 183.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6322.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Precigen will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

About Precigen

Precigen, Inc NASDAQ: PGEN is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing gene and cell therapies for serious diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases and certain immune-related conditions. The company uses its proprietary technologies to engineer therapies intended to improve treatment precision, durability and accessibility.

Precigen's pipeline has included PRGN-2012, an investigational immunotherapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, as well as programs based on its UltraCAR-T platform for cancer treatment.

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