Oppenheimer Initiates Coverage on Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL)

Investment analysts at Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 195.42% from the company’s current price.

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

Precision BioSciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DTIL opened at $6.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 14.02 and a quick ratio of 14.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.84 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.45. Precision BioSciences has a 1-year low of $3.53 and a 1-year high of $8.82.

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.75) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.66) by ($0.09). Precision BioSciences had a negative return on equity of 85.37% and a negative net margin of 96.73%.The company had revenue of $10.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 million. Analysts forecast that Precision BioSciences will post -1.29 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precision BioSciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Miller Financial Services LLC increased its position in Precision BioSciences by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Miller Financial Services LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in Precision BioSciences during the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.99% of the company’s stock.

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.