Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 35,580,646 shares, an increase of 28.2% from the December 15th total of 27,758,985 shares. Approximately 19.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,911,562 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 6,911,562 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Approximately 19.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Precigen Stock Up 6.5%

PGEN stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.41. The company had a trading volume of 3,636,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,749,462. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.17 and a beta of 1.10. Precigen has a 1 year low of $1.08 and a 1 year high of $5.22. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Randal J. Kirk sold 1,900,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $7,942,150.48. Following the sale, the director directly owned 341,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,170.02. The trade was a 84.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,866,329 shares of company stock valued at $20,233,899. Insiders own 47.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precigen

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Precigen during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Precigen during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Asempa Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Precigen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Precigen in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Precigen in the third quarter worth $53,000. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on PGEN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Precigen in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Precigen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

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.