Empery Asset Management LP Takes $9.13 Million Position in Precision BioSciences, Inc. $DTIL

Empery Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,194,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,130,000. Precision BioSciences makes up about 8.1% of Empery Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Empery Asset Management LP owned 0.10% of Precision BioSciences as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DTIL. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Precision BioSciences by 5.5% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Precision BioSciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $260,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Precision BioSciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Precision BioSciences by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 492,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 87,242 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Precision BioSciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DTIL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Precision BioSciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. JonesTrading restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Precision BioSciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.25.

Precision BioSciences Stock Down 6.0%

Shares of NASDAQ DTIL opened at $6.45 on Thursday. Precision BioSciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.53 and a 52 week high of $8.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.47. The company has a quick ratio of 14.02, a current ratio of 14.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $166.41 million, a P/E ratio of -1.76 and a beta of 1.30.

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.66) by ($0.09). Precision BioSciences had a negative net margin of 96.73% and a negative return on equity of 85.37%. The business had revenue of $10.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 million. Research analysts anticipate that Precision BioSciences, Inc. will post -1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Precision BioSciences Company Profile

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.