Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Trading 5.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN)’s share price shot up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $3.75 and last traded at $3.6950. 436,417 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,188,489 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Precigen from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Precigen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Precigen in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Precigen from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.50.

Precigen Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.95. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.67 million. Precigen had a negative net margin of 3,912.92% and a positive return on equity of 1,066.10%. Equities analysts forecast that Precigen, Inc. will post -0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Harry Jr. Thomasian bought 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, with a total value of $29,988.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 465,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,685,812.28. This trade represents a 1.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Randal J. Kirk sold 937,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.83, for a total transaction of $3,589,889.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,554,244 shares in the company, valued at $21,272,754.52. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 13,216 shares of company stock worth $46,816 and have sold 9,950,572 shares worth $37,720,437. Company insiders own 47.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Precigen

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGEN. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Precigen in the 1st quarter worth approximately $350,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Precigen in the first quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in Precigen by 3.8% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,276,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,801,000 after buying an additional 410,595 shares in the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP acquired a new position in Precigen during the second quarter worth $476,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Precigen during the first quarter worth $275,000. 33.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Precigen

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.