Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Now Covered by B. Riley Financial

Equities researchers at B. Riley Financial began coverage on shares of Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PGEN. Zacks Research raised shares of Precigen from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Precigen in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Precigen from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Precigen from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.67.

Precigen Stock Performance

NASDAQ PGEN opened at $7.75 on Thursday. Precigen has a 12 month low of $2.99 and a 12 month high of $8.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.18. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.45 and a beta of 1.02.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $54.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.98 million. Precigen had a positive return on equity of 423.75% and a negative net margin of 183.98%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6322.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Precigen will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Precigen

In other Precigen news, COO Rutul R. Shah sold 34,658 shares of Precigen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total value of $259,935.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 465,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,487,590. The trade was a 6.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Harry Thomasian, Jr. sold 171,429 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.53, for a total transaction of $948,002.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 354,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,960,578.55. This trade represents a 32.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 572,940 shares of company stock worth $3,749,510. 41.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precigen

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGEN. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in shares of Precigen by 207.8% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 40,880 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 27,600 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Precigen during the second quarter worth about $73,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Precigen by 462.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 353,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,014,000 after buying an additional 290,505 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Precigen by 10.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 53,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 5,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Precigen during the second quarter worth about $227,000. 33.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Precigen Company Profile

Precigen, Inc (NASDAQ:PGEN) is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene and cell therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. The company uses its synthetic biology platforms to engineer targeted medicines designed to improve treatment effectiveness, durability and safety.

Precigen’s technology portfolio includes its UltraCAR-T platform for developing next-generation CAR-T cell therapies, the AdenoVerse platform for gene delivery and immunotherapy applications, and ActoBiotics technology for the localized delivery of therapeutic proteins.