Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Precigen shares opened higher, rising from a previous close of $7.70 to $8.08 before trading near $7.82, amid increased trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $13.67, with HC Wainwright raising its target to $18 and B. Riley initiating coverage at Buy with a $12 target.
• Precigen reported quarterly results above expectations, including $0.05 EPS versus a $0.01 loss estimate and $54.98 million in revenue, while insiders sold nearly 1 million shares worth $6.2 million over the prior 90 days.

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $7.70, but opened at $8.08. Precigen shares last traded at $7.8220, with a volume of 1,891,151 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Precigen from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Precigen in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Precigen from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Precigen from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial began coverage on shares of Precigen in a research note on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.67.

Precigen Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.47 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Insider Activity

In other Precigen news, CFO Harry Thomasian, Jr. sold 171,429 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.53, for a total value of $948,002.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 354,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,960,578.55. This trade represents a 32.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Helen Sabzevari sold 346,836 shares of Precigen 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,198,656.08. This trade represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 991,271 shares of company stock valued at $6,208,620 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 41.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precigen

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PGEN. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Precigen by 207.8% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 40,880 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 27,600 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Precigen during the second quarter worth approximately $73,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Precigen by 462.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 353,272 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,014,000 after buying an additional 290,505 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Precigen by 10.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 53,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 5,086 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Precigen in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Precigen Company Profile

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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