Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) gapped down before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $6.94, but opened at $5.36. Precigen shares last traded at $5.1150, with a volume of 4,272,484 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Precigen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Precigen in a research report on Friday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Precigen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Precigen in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on Precigen from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.67.

Precigen Stock Down 23.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $7.22 and its 200-day moving average is $5.27. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of -5.09 and a beta of 1.01.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) last released its quarterly 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. Precigen had a positive return on equity of 423.75% and a negative net margin of 183.98%. The firm had revenue of $54.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.98 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6322.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Precigen, Inc. will post 0.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Precigen

In other Precigen news, Director Jeffrey Kindler sold 185,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.44, for a total value of $1,376,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,224. This trade represents a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Rutul Shah sold 34,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total value of $259,935.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 465,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,487,590. This represents a 6.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 267,739 shares of company stock worth $1,975,990. 41.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precigen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Precigen by 0.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 374,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in shares of Precigen by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 44,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Precigen by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 53,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Precigen in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Precigen by 102.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

About Precigen

Precigen, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing gene and cell therapies for cancer and serious diseases. The company uses its proprietary UltraCAR-T, AdenoVerse, and other gene-engineering platforms to design potential treatments intended to improve the targeting, persistence, and manufacturing of therapeutic cells and genetic medicines.

Precigen’s pipeline has included PRGN-2012, an investigational immunotherapy based on a gorilla adenovector for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, as well as PRGN-2001, an investigational HPV-targeted immunotherapy.