Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PGEN. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Precigen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Precigen in a report on Thursday, October 15th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Precigen from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Precigen in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. 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 MarketBeat, Precigen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.67.

Precigen Stock Performance

PGEN opened at $6.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 4.58. Precigen has a fifty-two week low of $3.04 and a fifty-two week high of $8.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.22 and a 200 day moving average of $5.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.67 and a beta of 1.01.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $54.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.98 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6322.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Precigen will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Precigen

In related news, COO Rutul R. Shah sold 34,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 465,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,487,590. The trade was a 6.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 185,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,224. The trade was a 91.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 267,739 shares of company stock valued at $1,975,990. Insiders own 41.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precigen

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Precigen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Precigen in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Precigen by 847.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 5,748 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Precigen in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Precigen by 102.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 5,426 shares during the period. 33.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.