Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $7.34 and last traded at $7.34, with a volume of 3028414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PGEN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Precigen in a report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Precigen from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Precigen from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Precigen from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Precigen from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Precigen has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.50.

Precigen Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of -6.92 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.65.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) last issued its 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 negative net margin of 183.98% and a positive return on equity of 423.75%. The firm had revenue of $54.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.98 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6322.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Precigen, Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Precigen

In other news, insider Donald P. Lehr sold 29,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.36, for a total value of $127,011.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 755,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,293,809.96. This trade represents a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Helen Sabzevari sold 346,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total transaction of $2,042,864.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,768,872 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 989,239 shares of company stock valued at $5,472,960. 41.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Precigen

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in Precigen during the second quarter worth about $86,000. AXQ Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Precigen by 223.7% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 116,978 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 80,837 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Precigen by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 555,230 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,165,000 after acquiring an additional 46,796 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of Precigen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,908,000. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Precigen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

Precigen Company Profile

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.