Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 price objective on the stock.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets raised Precision BioSciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th.

Precision BioSciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DTIL traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $4.93. The company had a trading volume of 27,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,213. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.79. The firm has a market cap of $37.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.51 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 9.22, a quick ratio of 9.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Precision BioSciences has a 52 week low of $3.61 and a 52 week high of $15.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Precision BioSciences news, CEO Michael Amoroso sold 36,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.67, for a total transaction of $172,033.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,096.29. The trade was a 25.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider J. Jefferson Smith sold 10,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total value of $49,274.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 87,440 shares in the company, valued at $418,837.60. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 8,734 shares of company stock worth $39,946 and have sold 47,279 shares worth $222,064. Insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precision BioSciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DTIL. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Precision BioSciences by 10.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 702,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,322,000 after purchasing an additional 68,943 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Precision BioSciences by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 65,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 19,088 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Precision BioSciences by 177.0% in the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 87,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 56,100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in Precision BioSciences in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Precision BioSciences in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. 37.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Precision BioSciences

Precision BioSciences, Inc, an advanced gene editing company, develops in vivo gene editing therapies for gene edits, including gene elimination, insertion, and excision in the United States. The company offers ARCUS, a genome editing platform to DNA genome insertion, deletion, and repair. It also provides PBGENE-HBV for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) to eliminate covalently closed circular DNA with direct cuts and edits as well as to inactivate integrated HBV DNA with the goal of long-lasting reductions in hepatitis B surface antigen; PBGENE-PMM for the treatment of m.3243 associated primary mitochondrial myopathy (PMM) which is expected to submit an IND and/or CTA.