Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN)

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 11,169 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,645% compared to the average volume of 640 call options.

Precigen Stock Performance

Precigen stock opened at $1.39 on Friday. Precigen has a twelve month low of $0.65 and a twelve month high of $1.93. The firm has a market cap of $407.09 million, a PE ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $0.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precigen

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Precigen by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,182,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 130,500 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Precigen by 56.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 50,002 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 18,097 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Precigen by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 56,998 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 16,486 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Precigen by 44.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 45,063 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 13,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Precigen by 10.2% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 167,496 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 15,525 shares in the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PGEN. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Precigen in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target (up from $4.00) on shares of Precigen in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.00.

About Precigen

Precigen, Inc operates as a discovery and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops gene and cell therapies using precision technology to target diseases in therapeutic areas of immuno-oncology, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. It operates through two segments, Biopharmaceuticals and Exemplar.