Precision BioSciences’ (DTIL) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 target price on the stock.

DTIL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings raised Precision BioSciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Precision BioSciences in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Precision BioSciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Precision BioSciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Precision BioSciences Stock Performance

Shares of DTIL opened at $9.28 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.81. The company has a quick ratio of 14.02, a current ratio of 14.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Precision BioSciences has a 52 week low of $3.53 and a 52 week high of $9.62. The stock has a market cap of $239.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 1.25.

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.66) by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $10.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 million. Precision BioSciences had a negative net margin of 96.73% and a negative return on equity of 85.37%. On average, analysts expect that Precision BioSciences will post -2.21 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precision BioSciences

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new position in Precision BioSciences in the 4th quarter valued at $8,897,000. Empery Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter worth $9,130,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Precision BioSciences by 5.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 77,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter valued at $295,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Precision BioSciences by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 68,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 8,936 shares during the period. 37.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.