Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Stock Price Up 5.2% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Precigen's stock rose by 5.2%, trading between $3.78 and $4.06, although the volume was down 57% compared to its average session.
• Equities analysts have shown increased optimism, with several upgrades, including JMP Securities raising the target price to $8.00 and a consensus target price of $8.25.
• In addition to insider buying, institutional investors such as Adage Capital Partners and Bank of America made notable purchases, increasing their holdings significantly over recent quarters.

Shares of Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) were up 5.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $4.06 and last traded at $3.78. Approximately 1,685,619 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 3,964,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PGEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Precigen from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Precigen in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Precigen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $8.50 price objective on shares of Precigen in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on Precigen from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $8.25.

Precigen Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $2.93 and a 200-day moving average of $2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.93 and a beta of 1.82.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.03. Precigen had a negative return on equity of 842.83% and a negative net margin of 2,868.66%.The company had revenue of $0.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.67 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Precigen, Inc. will post -0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Precigen news, Director Randal J. Kirk sold 3,596,892 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.68, for a total transaction of $13,236,562.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,520,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,355,576.16. This represents a 29.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy H. Agee purchased 15,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.20 per share, with a total value of $49,152.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 192,196 shares in the company, valued at $615,027.20. The trade was a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 41,005 shares of company stock valued at $167,651 in the last ninety days. 47.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Precigen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Precigen by 134.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 48,803 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 28,005 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Precigen by 258.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 832,261 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 599,914 shares during the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP purchased a new stake in Precigen during the 2nd quarter valued at $476,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Precigen during the 2nd quarter valued at $524,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Precigen by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 62,955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 19,149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.51% of the company's stock.

About Precigen

Precigen, Inc operates as a discovery and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops gene and cell therapies using precision technology to target diseases in therapeutic areas of immuno-oncology, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. It operates through two segments, Biopharmaceuticals and Exemplar.