Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Shares Up 8.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Precigen shares rose 8.5% to about $6.60 in mid-day trading, though volume was 79% below the average session level.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed, but the overall consensus is “Moderate Buy” with a $13.67 price target, more than double the reported trading price.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $54.98 million, up 6,322.7% year over year, and earnings of $0.05 per share versus expectations for a loss; however, insiders sold roughly $2.8 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) shares were up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $6.38 and last traded at $6.5950. 983,098 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 4,667,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on Precigen in a report on Friday, September 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Precigen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Precigen from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Precigen in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Precigen from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold 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 a consensus target price of $13.67.

Precigen Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.58 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 4.58.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.98 million. The firm's revenue was up 6322.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Precigen, Inc. will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Precigen

In related news, CFO Harry Thomasian, Jr. sold 100,000 shares of Precigen stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.06, for a total value of $606,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 254,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,542,482.10. The trade was a 28.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey Kindler sold 185,000 shares of Precigen stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.44, for a total transaction of $1,376,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,224. The trade was a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 401,511 shares of company stock worth $2,801,508. Insiders own 41.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precigen

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Precigen during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Precigen by 102.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,714 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 5,426 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Precigen in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Precigen in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Precigen in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Precigen Company Profile

Precigen, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing gene and cell therapies for cancer and serious diseases. The company uses its proprietary UltraCAR-T, AdenoVerse, and other gene-engineering platforms to design potential treatments intended to improve the targeting, persistence, and manufacturing of therapeutic cells and genetic medicines.

Precigen's pipeline has included PRGN-2012, an investigational immunotherapy based on a gorilla adenovector for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, as well as PRGN-2001, an investigational HPV-targeted immunotherapy.

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