Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at B. Riley Financial

B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks reports.

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

Precigen Price Performance

Shares of PGEN opened at $7.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 4.58. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.45 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.17. Precigen has a twelve month low of $2.99 and a twelve month high of $8.27.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.06. Precigen had a negative net margin of 183.98% and a positive return on equity of 423.75%. The company had revenue of $54.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.98 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6322.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Precigen will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Rutul R. Shah sold 15,342 shares of Precigen stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total value of $115,065.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 468,865 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,487.50. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 100,000 shares of Precigen stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.06, for a total transaction of $606,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 254,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,542,482.10. This trade represents a 28.21% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 991,271 shares of company stock valued at $6,208,620 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 41.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precigen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Precigen in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Precigen by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 5,426 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Precigen during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Precigen during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Precigen in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 33.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.