Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Precigen Call Options (NASDAQ:PGEN)

Key Points

• Precigen call-option activity surged: Investors bought 23,605 call options, roughly 417% above the typical daily volume, while the stock rose 2.2% to $7.16.
• Insiders were net sellers: Executives and directors sold 991,271 shares worth approximately $6.2 million over the past three months, although insiders still own 41.4% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally bullish: Precigen reported quarterly revenue of $54.98 million, far above estimates, and its consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $14.50.

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 23,605 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 417% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,570 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Precigen news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 185,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.44, for a total transaction of $1,376,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $127,224. This trade represents a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Helen Sabzevari sold 346,836 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total transaction of $2,042,864.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,768,872 shares in the company, valued at $22,198,656.08. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 991,271 shares of company stock worth $6,208,620 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 41.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in Precigen in the 1st quarter valued at $1,338,000. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Precigen during the second quarter worth about $1,309,000. Patient Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Precigen in the second quarter worth about $108,511,000. Occam Crest Management LP boosted its position in shares of Precigen by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Occam Crest Management LP now owns 3,501,739 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,637,000 after buying an additional 799,339 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of Precigen in the second quarter valued at about $1,908,000. 33.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Precigen Stock Up 2.2%

PGEN traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $7.16. 1,717,058 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,559,123. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.88 and a beta of 1.02. Precigen has a 12-month low of $2.99 and a 12-month high of $7.72. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.38 and a 200 day moving average of $4.95.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.06. Precigen had a positive return on equity of 423.75% and a negative net margin of 183.98%.The business had revenue of $54.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.98 million. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6322.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Precigen will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Precigen from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Precigen from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Precigen in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Precigen from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Precigen presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.50.

About Precigen

Precigen, Inc NASDAQ: PGEN is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene and cell therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. The company uses its synthetic biology platforms to engineer targeted medicines designed to improve treatment effectiveness, durability and safety.

Precigen's technology portfolio includes its UltraCAR-T platform for developing next-generation CAR-T cell therapies, the AdenoVerse platform for gene delivery and immunotherapy applications, and ActoBiotics technology for the localized delivery of therapeutic proteins.

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