Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) Short Interest Update

Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 618,300 shares, a drop of 16.1% from the February 28th total of 736,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 478,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 17.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research report on Friday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Precision BioSciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th.

Precision BioSciences Stock Up 5.1 %

NASDAQ DTIL traded up $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $4.72. The company had a trading volume of 32,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,530. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.11 and its 200-day moving average is $6.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.68 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 9.22 and a current ratio of 9.22. Precision BioSciences has a 1-year low of $3.61 and a 1-year high of $15.97.

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The company reported ($3.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.09) by ($1.11). The firm had revenue of $3.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 million. Precision BioSciences had a negative return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 11.48%. On average, research analysts forecast that Precision BioSciences will post -1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Precision BioSciences

In other Precision BioSciences news, insider J. Jefferson Smith sold 10,287 shares of Precision BioSciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total transaction of $49,274.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 87,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,837.60. The trade was a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Amoroso sold 36,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.67, for a total value of $172,033.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $500,096.29. This trade represents a 25.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,243 shares of company stock worth $227,424 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DTIL. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Precision BioSciences by 10.9% in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Precision BioSciences by 40.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised 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 valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 56,100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. 37.99% of the stock is currently owned by 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.