Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) Stock Price Breaks Below 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Precision BioSciences shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $6.37 versus the $6.44 average, with the latest price near $6.41.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: four analysts rate DTIL a Buy and one rates it a Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $32.25 target price. However, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a Sell rating and Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to Sell.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $1.26 per share, missing the $0.80 consensus estimate, while maintaining deeply negative profitability metrics; analysts expect a full-year loss of $3.33 per share.

Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $6.44 and traded as low as $6.37. Precision BioSciences shares last traded at $6.41, with a volume of 266,678 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DTIL shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Precision BioSciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Precision BioSciences Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $176.92 million, a P/E ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 12.82 and a current ratio of 12.82. The firm's 50 day moving average is $6.98 and its 200 day moving average is $6.44.

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by ($0.46). Precision BioSciences had a negative return on equity of 72.52% and a negative net margin of 96.73%. Analysts anticipate that Precision BioSciences, Inc. will post -3.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its holdings in shares of Precision BioSciences by 70.4% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 245,058 shares of the company's stock worth $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 101,206 shares during the period. Octagon Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in Precision BioSciences by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 2,236,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,302,000 after purchasing an additional 318,737 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Precision BioSciences by 212.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 137,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 93,258 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Precision BioSciences during the 1st quarter valued at $3,289,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Precision BioSciences in the first quarter valued at about $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.99% of the company's stock.

Precision BioSciences Company Profile

Precision BioSciences, Inc is a biotechnology company developing gene-editing medicines using its proprietary ARCUS platform. ARCUS is based on engineered DNA-cutting enzymes designed to make targeted changes to genetic material, with the potential to remove, insert or correct DNA sequences in human cells.

The company's research and development activities have focused primarily on in vivo gene editing, in which therapeutic editing components are delivered directly into the body. Its development programs have included potential treatments for conditions such as chronic hepatitis B infection, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and certain rare genetic disorders.

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