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

Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 752,700 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the March 15th total of 618,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 468,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 21.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Precision BioSciences Price Performance

DTIL stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.02. 99,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 178,941. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 9.22 and a current ratio of 9.22. The stock has a market cap of $52.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.68 and a beta of 1.59. Precision BioSciences has a fifty-two week low of $3.61 and a fifty-two week high of $13.44.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Precision BioSciences news, insider J. Jefferson Smith sold 10,287 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 87,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,837.60. This represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Amoroso sold 36,838 shares of Precision BioSciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 107,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $500,096.29. The trade was 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 valued at $227,424 over the last quarter. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Precision BioSciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 19,088 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Precision BioSciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Precision BioSciences by 177.0% during the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 87,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 56,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Precision BioSciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $179,000. 37.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DTIL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Precision BioSciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

Precision BioSciences Company Profile

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.