Octagon Capital Advisors LP Acquires 318,737 Shares of Precision BioSciences, Inc. $DTIL

Key Points

• Octagon Capital Advisors increased its Precision BioSciences stake by 16.6%, purchasing 318,737 additional shares to own 2.24 million shares, or approximately 8.67% of DTIL. Institutional investors collectively own 37.99% of the company.
• Precision BioSciences reported a quarterly loss of $0.75 per share, missing estimates by $0.09, but revenue of $10.84 million exceeded the $4.05 million consensus forecast. Analysts expect a full-year loss of $2.21 per share.
• Despite the weak earnings, analyst sentiment is broadly positive: four analysts rate DTIL a Buy and one rates it a Sell, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $32.25 versus the recent $7.29 share price.

Octagon Capital Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL - Free Report) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,236,732 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 318,737 shares during the quarter. Precision BioSciences comprises 1.4% of Octagon Capital Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Octagon Capital Advisors LP owned approximately 8.67% of Precision BioSciences worth $12,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DTIL. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new position in Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter worth $8,897,000. Empery Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Precision BioSciences in the 4th quarter valued at $9,130,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Precision BioSciences in the 1st quarter valued at $3,289,000. Miller Financial Services LLC grew its position in Precision BioSciences by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Miller Financial Services LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Precision BioSciences in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 37.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Precision BioSciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:DTIL opened at $7.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 14.02 and a current ratio of 14.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.35 and a 200-day moving average of $6.13. Precision BioSciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.53 and a 52 week high of $9.62. The company has a market capitalization of $188.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.99 and a beta of 1.25.

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.66) by ($0.09). Precision BioSciences had a negative net margin of 96.73% and a negative return on equity of 85.37%. The business had revenue of $10.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Precision BioSciences, Inc. will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JonesTrading reissued a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Precision BioSciences in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Precision BioSciences from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Precision BioSciences in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.25.

About Precision BioSciences

Precision BioSciences is a clinical‐stage genome editing company that leverages its proprietary ARCUS platform to develop targeted gene therapies. ARCUS, an engineered nuclease derived from a naturally occurring enzyme, enables precise DNA modifications for both in vivo and ex vivo applications. The company's pipeline spans genetic diseases—including rare monogenic disorders—and immuno‐oncology, where it is advancing allogeneic cell therapy candidates designed to address hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.

Founded in 2006 as a spin‐out from research at the University of North Carolina, Precision BioSciences is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, with additional research and manufacturing capabilities located in the Research Triangle Park area.

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