Short Interest in Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) Rises By 27.4%

Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 811,386 shares, an increase of 27.4% from the November 30th total of 636,655 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 187,485 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 187,485 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Precision BioSciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DTIL opened at $4.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.16. The stock has a market cap of $55.16 million, a P/E ratio of -0.50 and a beta of 1.20. Precision BioSciences has a twelve month low of $3.61 and a twelve month high of $8.82.

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported ($1.84) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($1.53). The company had revenue of $0.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.40 million. Precision BioSciences had a negative return on equity of 233.77% and a negative net margin of 11,977.36%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.25) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Precision BioSciences will post -1.23 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DTIL. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Precision BioSciences by 5.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 77,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Precision BioSciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $260,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Precision BioSciences during the second quarter worth about $425,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in Precision BioSciences during the third quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Precision BioSciences by 21.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 492,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 87,242 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.99% of the company’s stock.

About Precision BioSciences

Precision BioSciences is a clinical?stage genome editing company that leverages its proprietary ARCUS platform to develop targeted gene therapies. ARCUS, an engineered nuclease derived from a naturally occurring enzyme, enables precise DNA modifications for both in vivo and ex vivo applications. The company’s pipeline spans genetic diseases—including rare monogenic disorders—and immuno?oncology, where it is advancing allogeneic cell therapy candidates designed to address hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.

Founded in 2006 as a spin?out from research at the University of North Carolina, Precision BioSciences is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, with additional research and manufacturing capabilities located in the Research Triangle Park area.