Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) Insider J. Jefferson Smith Sells 10,200 Shares

Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) insider J. Jefferson Smith sold 10,200 shares of Precision BioSciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.03, for a total value of $41,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 110,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,041.52. The trade was a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Precision BioSciences Trading Up 6.0%

Shares of NASDAQ DTIL traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $4.25. 319,633 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,309. Precision BioSciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.75 and a 12 month high of $8.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 3.45. The company has a market capitalization of $56.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.12.

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported ($1.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($1.53). Precision BioSciences had a negative net margin of 11,977.36% and a negative return on equity of 233.77%. The firm had revenue of $0.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($2.25) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Precision BioSciences, Inc. will post -1.23 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precision BioSciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Precision BioSciences by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 77,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Precision BioSciences during the second quarter worth about $260,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Precision BioSciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $425,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in Precision BioSciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Precision BioSciences by 21.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 492,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 87,242 shares during the last quarter. 37.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Precision BioSciences in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

About Precision BioSciences

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.