Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN)

Key Points

• Precigen experienced a 288% increase in call options volume, with traders acquiring 6,357 contracts on Wednesday, signaling heightened investor interest.
• Institutional investors own 33.51% of Precigen's stock, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Wells Fargo and Barclays during the fourth quarter.
• Despite posting a **better-than-expected loss** of $0.07 EPS for the recent quarter, Precigen's stock is down 1.8% and is currently trading at $1.90.

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 6,357 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately288% compared to the average volume of 1,637 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Precigen in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Precigen in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Precigen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th.

Precigen Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PGEN traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $1.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,904,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,013,823. Precigen has a one year low of $0.65 and a one year high of $2.17. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.57.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.50 million. Precigen had a negative net margin of 3,728.87% and a negative return on equity of 279.20%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Precigen will post -0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Precigen

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGEN. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Precigen during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Precigen by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,343 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 5,915 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Precigen during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Precigen during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Precigen by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 36,771 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 21,633 shares during the period. 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.