Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Trading 5.7% Higher - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Precigen's stock price rose by 5.7% to $4.17, though trading volume was down 83% compared to its average daily volume.
• A group of analysts has upgraded their price targets for Precigen, with JMP Securities raising the price target from $6.00 to $8.00 and assigning a "market outperform" rating.
• Precigen reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($0.11) EPS, which was better than analysts' expectations, and had a revenue of $0.86 million, exceeding estimates of $0.67 million.

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) shares were up 5.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $4.13 and last traded at $4.17. Approximately 728,053 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,214,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PGEN shares. JMP Securities upped their price target on Precigen from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Precigen from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Precigen in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Precigen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Precigen in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $8.25.

Precigen Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -9.58 and a beta of 1.61.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2,868.66% and a negative return on equity of 842.83%. The firm had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.67 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Precigen, Inc. will post -0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Precigen

In related news, CFO Harry Jr. Thomasian purchased 8,284 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.62 per share, for a total transaction of $29,988.08. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 465,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,685,812.28. This trade represents a 1.81% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 106,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.38, for a total transaction of $361,109.06. Following the sale, the director directly owned 346,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,169,716.60. This represents a 23.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 54,221 shares of company stock valued at $214,467 and sold 6,984,279 shares valued at $25,428,688. 47.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Precigen

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGEN. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Precigen by 3.7% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 198,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 7,041 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Precigen by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 81,610 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 9,043 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in Precigen in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 19,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flower City Capital purchased a new position in Precigen during the third quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Precigen Company Profile

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.

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