Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $6.15 and last traded at $6.02, with a volume of 512040 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Precigen in a report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Precigen from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Precigen from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Precigen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Precigen in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.50.

Precigen Trading Up 4.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.12, a current ratio of 4.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.28 and a beta of 1.00.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $23.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.81 million. Precigen had a negative net margin of 646.99% and a positive return on equity of 717.50%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Precigen, Inc. will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Rutul R. Shah sold 42,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $251,105.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 497,751 shares in the company, valued at $2,911,843.35. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total value of $2,042,864.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,768,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,198,656.08. This trade represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 822,728 shares of company stock worth $4,422,853 over the last quarter. Insiders own 41.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precigen

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Precigen by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 90,143 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 34,137 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Precigen in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Precigen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Precigen by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 374,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Precigen

Precigen, Inc (NASDAQ: PGEN) is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of genetic medicines. The company leverages proprietary gene and cell therapy platforms to design targeted therapies for oncology, infectious diseases and rare conditions. Precigen’s approach combines synthetic biology, immuno-oncology and microbiome engineering to create precision treatments intended to enhance efficacy while minimizing off-target effects.

The centerpiece of Precigen’s technology is its OmniCAR platform, which enables the rapid generation of adaptable chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell products.