Zacks Research Downgrades Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) to Strong Sell

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Precigen in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Precigen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on Precigen from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Precigen Stock Down 1.7%

PGEN opened at $4.76 on Thursday. Precigen has a fifty-two week low of $1.11 and a fifty-two week high of $5.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.42 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.12 and its 200 day moving average is $3.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 3.95.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.03). Precigen had a negative net margin of 3,912.92% and a positive return on equity of 1,066.10%. The business had revenue of $2.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.67 million. Research analysts expect that Precigen will post -0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Precigen

In related news, Director Randal J. Kirk sold 1,900,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 84.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 4,866,329 shares of company stock worth $20,233,899 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 47.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precigen

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Patient Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Precigen by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC now owns 26,460,848 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,056,000 after buying an additional 10,192,107 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Precigen by 201.1% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,505,992 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673,731 shares during the period. Boxer Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Precigen in the third quarter valued at $2,796,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Precigen by 1,895.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,178 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 633,743 shares during the period. Finally, Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC raised its holdings in Precigen by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 2,101,715 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,915,000 after purchasing an additional 558,892 shares in the last quarter. 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.